US: S&P 500, Nasdaq end at fresh records after solid jobs data

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks surged higher on Thursday following US jobs data that topped estimates as President Donald Trump’s massive tax cut measure neared final passage in Congress.

The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 0.8 per cent to 6,279.35, a second straight record.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.0 per cent to 20,601.10, also a record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.8 per cent to 44,828.53.

The US economy added 147,000 jobs in June while unemployment dipped to 4.1 percent from 4.2 per cent, a sign of US labour market resilience despite the White House’s wave of tariffs.

“We have a nice rally going, and the reason for that is that the employment data was stronger than expected,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities, who noted that the market overlooked that the job additions included a heavy share of public sector posts.

Markets also shrugged off data showing an uptick in the US trade deficit in May, with both imports and exports declining.

But congressional Republicans expressed confidence they would win final passage of Trump’s sweeping fiscal package, which includes heavy spending increases for deportations and cuts in federal health care programmes.

Investors have greeted the extension of tax cuts, but have expressed concern at forecasts that the package will add US$3.4 trillion in debt.

US stock exchanges closed early on Thursday and will be shuttered Friday for the July 4th Independence Day holiday. AFP