Wall Street stocks closed higher on Thursday, ending the week on a high note amid strong economic data and hope for a coronavirus vaccine. The Nasdaq reached an all-time closing high as investors headed into their long holiday weekend while the S&P 500 posted its fourth straight daily gain. On the data front, according to the Labor Department, the US economy added 4.8 million jobs in June, 1.8 million more than expected. On the negative side, Florida reported 10,000 new cases of the disease on Thursday. As a result, the S&P 500 rose 0.45%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%.
Following Wall Street rally driven by strong jobs data, Asian markets advanced on Friday. China’s Shanghai Composite index jumped 2% after the report showed that Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index surged to a 10-year high of 58.4 last month, up from 55 in May. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index picked up 0.7%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by nearly 1%. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.8%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.41%.
In Europe, stocks turned mostly negative as upbeat economic data were overshadowed by persistent worries about rising virus cases in the U.S. As for the data, the Eurozone market services PMI for June came in at 48.3, jumping from May’s 30.5 and beating a forecast of 47.3. In Spain, the services PMI jumped to 50.2 from 27.9.
Meanwhile, the dollar is marginally higher against major counterparts on Friday but in general, trading activity is muted due to Independence Day in the United States. EURUSD has settled marginally above the 1.1220 area, staying under pressure following yesterday’s rejection from the 1.13 handle. The common currency has barely reacted to fresh economic data out of the Eurozone, staying muted after the recent pick up in volatility.
Elsewhere, bitcoin price declined decently yesterday, struggling for direction on Friday. BTCUSD briefly dipped below the $9,000 handle during the recent sell-off after another failed attempt to overcome the $9,300 local resistance. A daily close below $9,000 will signal further deterioration in the technical picture.
