Wall Street ended mixed even as the Dow set a record. Technology stocks tumbled while the Dow and S&P 500 rose. The disappointing jobs data increased expectations that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates.
The Jobs Report
The U.S. added just 57,000 jobs in June, down from 129,000 in May. That number was also below the 115,000 that economists had expected.
The market-implied probability of a rate hike in September fell from about 65% to 53.5%.
The jobs miss was the second consecutive month of weaker-than-expected hiring, with May's figure revised down to 129,000. This pattern has fueled speculation that the Fed may soon pivot to rate cuts, even as inflation remains above target.
Global Markets Catch a Tailwind
European stocks climbed across the board. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.69%, hitting a new 52-week high.
Utilities were the best performers, jumping 1.78%. Germany's DAX led major European markets with a gain of 0.85%. Italy's FTSE MIB added 0.77%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.48%, and the UK's FTSE 100 eked out a 0.19% increase.
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Asian markets also rallied. Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 1.47%, and South Korea's Kospi soared 5.76% - a move so big it triggered a trading halt. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.28%, and China's CSI 300 rose 1.15%.
The Dow added 594.83 points, or 1.14%, to close at a record 52,900.07. The S&P 500 ended nearly flat at 7,483.24. But the Nasdaq dropped 0.8% to 25,832.67, dragged down by chip stocks.
A Rotation Between Tech and Other Sectors
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 4.5%. Chip stocks took heavy losses: Teradyne dropped 13.6%, KLA slid 11.5%, Micron lost 5.5%, and Nvidia pulled back 1.4%.
Meanwhile, some tech names bucked the trend. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix jumped nearly 10%, and Samsung rallied.
The rotation also lifted biotechnology stocks. French firm Abivax surged to the top of the Stoxx 600, spiking 7.7% in early trading. The company raised 767.1 million euros ($874.1 million) from a share sale.
Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, said: "Technology moves incredibly fast, and we need to think differently about some of the innovations that we are seeing on AI."
Gold Rises
Spot gold traded at $4,182.40 per ounce on Friday morning, on track for a weekly rise after five straight weeks of decline.
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