U.S. stock indexes climbed to record highs after the July jobs report blew past expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 144 points, or 0.41%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.17% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.4%. The early gains propelled both the Dow and the S&P to all-time intraday highs while the Nasdaq hovered just below its own peak.
The U.S. economy added 943,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate slipped to 5.4%, the Labor Department said Friday. For June, job additions were revised higher to 938,000 while the unemployment rate was unrevised at 5.9%.
The strong report unleashed selling in the U.S. Treasury market, with the yield on the 10-year note closing up 7 basis points near 1.29%.
In stocks, big banks were in focus after the Federal Reserve announced new capital requirements based on how well each performed during the stress tests conducted earlier this year. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley were given the highest capital ratios at 13.4% and 13.2%, respectively.
Novavax Inc. pushed back the timeline for seeking U.S. authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. The process has been delayed several times due to difficulty obtaining materials and equipment.
Didi Global Inc. is considering giving up control of its most valuable data in order to appease Chinese regulators that have been probing the company following its U.S. initial public offering, Bloomberg News reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Didi shares have slumped 33% through Thursday since last month, pricing its IPO at $14 a share.
In earnings, Beyond Meat Inc. reported a bigger-than-expected loss and said restaurants were taking a conservative approach to orders due to uncertainty over COVID-19. The plant-based burger maker guided revenue below Wall Street estimates.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slide 81 cents to $68.28 a barrel and gold tumbled $45.10 to $1,760 an ounce.
Overseas markets were choppy.
European bourses rallied with France’s CAC 40 rising 0.53%, Germany’s DAX 30 gaining 0.11% and Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.04%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.33%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.1% and 0.24%, respectively.
