Associated Press Business Writer Stanchion
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are on record highs Thursday after showing that the U.S. job market appears stronger than Wall Street expects.
The S&P 500 was on track to set its fourth all-time high in five days, up 0.7% in morning trading. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 387 points (0.6%) as of 10:15am Eastern time, with Nasdaq Composite rising 0.9%.
Company stocks that can get the biggest increase when workers are confident have helped lead the way, including travel providers. Expedia rose 3.6%, United Airlines rose 2.8%, and Norway’s cruise line rose 2.6%.
Bank stocks were also strong, with Wells Fargo rising 1.8% and JPMorgan rising 1.3%.
The response grew in the bond market following a report from the US government, saying employers added 147,000 jobs to their payroll last month than they cut. Despite concerns about President Donald Trump’s tariffs could undermine the economy and inflation, the unexpected acceleration in the US job market is continuing.
“I have nothing to complain about here,” says Carl Weinberg, chief economist in high frequency economics. “We can’t find evidence of an early recession in these numbers.”
Meanwhile, another report states that fewer US workers apply for unemployment benefits last week. This indicates that it alleviates layoffs.
Investors jumped into the bond market to bet that better than expected data could put the Federal Reserve on interest rates instead of cutting the way Trump wants loudly when it comes to interest rates. Higher interest rates can push the prices of stocks and other investments down, but borrowing is more expensive for people and businesses looking to buy a fleet of cars and equipment.
Futures market traders believe there is a below 7% chance that the Fed could cut key interest rates at the next meeting later this month. According to data from CME Group, it has dropped sharply from almost 24% of the chances seen just a day ago.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell argues that he wants to wait and see how Trump’s tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before making the next move. Lower fees boost the economy, but they can also give more fuel inflation. And that could be dangerous if Trump’s tariffs are trying to increase inflation.
Many of Trump’s strict proposed import taxes are currently suspended, but they are expected to come into effect next week, unless Trump does business with other countries and lowers them.
A recent survey by the Supply Management Institute says many U.S. companies in the services industry are concerned about the impact of tariffs, even if they return to growth last month after the May contraction.
“The increased costs and the likelihood of tariffs caused by tariffs have impacted the increased costs,” a company with agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industries said in a survey.
The 2010 Treasury yield rose to 4.34% from 4.30% on Wednesday. The two-year financial yield, which travels closer to expectations for the Fed, jumped even further. It rose from 3.78% to 3.88%.
On Wall Street, Datadog jumped 11.7% after learning that the stock would be joining the widely held S&P 500 index before trading began Wednesday. Many managers in the fund will either directly mimic or at least encourage investment in any equity that participates in the index, compared to the S&P 500.
Datadog will replace Juniper Networks and merge with Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
There were some Wall Street losers who could feel the pain by maintaining high interest rates.
Home builders hope to lower fees to make mortgages cheaper, with Renard down 2.1%.
Businesses that own the property are also lagging behind, including a 1.6% drop in Crown Castle, which owns cell towers and other infrastructure used for communications.
In overseas stock markets, indexes rose in most parts of Europe and Asia. Korean Kospi climbed 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hangsen fell 0.6% with two major moves.
AP writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
Original issue: July 3, 2025 8:07am EDT
