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Writer's pictureSimon Charles Hooper

05/06/24 Briefing



U.S. markets ended higher on Wednesday driven by tech stocks. Market participants assessed labor market data and awaited the release of nonfarm payroll figures while monitoring the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting for insights into monetary policy. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.3% or 96.04 points to close at 38,807.33. Notably, 16 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 14 finished in negative zone and one remained unchanged.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 330.86 points or 2% to close at 17,187.91.The S&P 500 gained 1.2% or 62.69 points to end at 5,354.03. Out of 11 broad sectors of the benchmark, seven ended in positive territory, while four finished in red. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) rose 2.2%, 1.2% and 1%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) fell 0.6%.The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4% to 12.63. On Wednesday, 10.8 billion shares were traded, lower than the 20-session average of 12.6 billion. The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and nine new 52-week lows. The Nasdaq Composite registered 62 new 52-week highs and 116 new 52-week lows.

Nvidia hit $3 Trillion Market Cap

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA shares climbed 5.2% to $1,224.40, pushing its market cap to more than $3 trillion, according to a Bloomberg report. This milestone places NVIDIA as the second-largest public company, surpassing Apple Inc. AAPL. The surge was fueled by a 3,224% stock increase in the last five years, driven by demand for its GPUs, crucial for AI development. Consequently, NVIDIA Corporation carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

According to a recent report from ADP, private job creation in the United States slowed in May. The payroll processing firm revealed that companies added 152,000 jobs during the month which was lower than April’s 188,000 and below the consensus estimate of 175,000. This indicates continued sluggishness in the jobs market.The majority of hiring in May came from the services sector, with an increase of 149,000 jobs while only 3,000 new positions were added by goods producers. Notably, the leisure and hospitality sectors saw minimal growth, with just 12,000 new jobs. On the other hand, certain sectors experienced job losses. Manufacturing shed 20,000 jobs, natural resources and mining cut 9,000 positions, the information sector saw a decline of 7,000 jobs, and professional and business services witnessed a decrease of 6,000 jobs. Small businesses, particularly those with 20 to 49 employees, shed a total of 36,000 jobs.Investors are waiting for the nonfarm payrolls data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that could provide insights into the labor market situation. The Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting from Jun 11-12 will be closely monitored as policymakers are expected to keep the lending rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50%.

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