Dow Soars Over 400 Points, Hits All-Time High As Rate Hike Odds Fall On Weak Jobs Report — Hassett Says US Economy Is 'Very Strong'

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payrolls in June increased by a seasonally adjusted 57,000.

• Analysts expected an addition of 115,000 payrolls during the month, according to Dow Jones data cited by MarketWatch.
• The unemployment rate also came in below expectations, at 4.2%, compared to an expected 4.3%.
• Following the jobs report, the odds of a 25-basis-point rate hike fell to 17.6% on Thursday, down from 28.9% a day ago, according to data from the CME FedWatch tool.

U.S. equities were mixed in Thursday morning’s trade as the odds of a rate hike in July’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting fell following a weaker-than-expected jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index soared more than 400 points to hit an all-time high of 52,805 before paring some of the gains. The S&P 500 index was up about 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%.

Payroll Additions Miss Expectations By Over 50%

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nonfarm payrolls in June increased by a seasonally adjusted 57,000. Analysts expected an addition of 115,000 payrolls during the month, according to Dow Jones data cited by MarketWatch.

The BLS also trimmed its estimates for May by 43,000 and for April by 31,000, indicating that labor market growth was slower than initially estimated.

The unemployment rate also came in below expectations, at 4.2%, compared to an expected 4.3%.

Rate Hike Odds Decline

The weaker-than-expected jobs report also led to a decline in rate-hike odds. According to data from the CME FedWatch tool, the odds of a 25-basis-point rate hike fell to 17.6% on Thursday, down from 28.9% a day ago and 32.1% a week ago.

During an interview with CNBC, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett argued that the BLS data confirm that the U.S. economy is “very strong.”

Hassett cited the wage increase in June as the reason for his bullish outlook on the U.S. economy, adding that higher productivity is the driver of higher wages.

“We respect the independence of the Fed and have high confidence that Chairman Warsh is going to be able to convince his colleagues of the same thing,” he said, referring to a question about bringing down interest rates.

Savita Subramanian, Bank of America Securities’ Head of U.S. Equity and Quantitative Strategy, echoed Hassett’s sentiments in an interview with CNBC, saying it is hard to be bearish on the U.S. economy currently.

“I think the index itself looks a little bit fraught in terms of just supply coming online, demand maybe kind of pausing for a moment, but I think the economy is really the bright spot, and corporate earnings are actually gangbusters this year,” she added.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, edged lower by 0.06%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 1.32%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 0.65%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in ‘bearish’ territory.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up 0.16%, while the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) gained 0.21%.

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