The ADP private payroll survey showed a gain of 330,000 jobs for July, well short of expectations
Wall Street stocks were mostly lower overnight as a private-sector jobs report came in lower than expected. Furthermore, earnings of a major automaker disappointed. In particular, shares of General Motors fell nearly 9.0%, after the company missed earnings expectations for the second quarter.
At the same time, the automaker raised its guidance for a key profit metric for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the ADP private payroll survey showed a gain of 330,000 jobs for July, well short of the consensus estimate of 653,000. As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.9%, the S&P 500 slipped about 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.1%.
Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday as concerns have been mounting around the coronavirus delta variant’s spread, especially in China. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.57%, the Kospi in South Korea shed less than 0.1%, and Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.21% while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.52% following yesterday’s losses.
In Europe, equities were mixed, hovering near record levels on Thursday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 held just above the flat-line in early trade. On the data front, German factory orders jumped more than expected in June. Orders arrived at 4.1% on the month versus 1.9% expected and -3.2% last. On an annualized basis, however, industrial orders rose by 26.2% versus the expected growth of 67.5%.
Meanwhile, the dollar looks steady on Thursday after a rally seen yesterday. The ascent was triggered by the Federal Reserve. In particular, the Federal Reserve Vice Chair Clarida said the central bank would look to raise interest rates by 2023. He predicted the U.S. economy remains on track to meet the central bank’s employment and inflation goals. Now, the market focus is shifting to the UD Labor Department’s official jobs report that will be released on Friday.
