The stock markets in the United States fluctuated and ended the trading session with mixed results today. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 declined while the NASDAQ and Russell 2000 gained.
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The Department of Labor reported that the economy created 280,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained at 5.5% in May. The economy already created 12.6 million private sector jobs over the past 63 months. The agency also reported that average hourly earnings of employees on private payrolls increased by eight cents, a 2.3% increase—the largest year-over-year increase since August 2013.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Chad Morganlander, a money manager at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. said the jobs report “confirms that potential doldrums from the first quarter and early second quarter are transitory.”
Morganlander added, “If you start to see wage growth heat up or start firing on all cylinders, the Fed will certainly go in September or October. This is positive for the economy.”
[drizzle]Yesterday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the Federal Reserve to delay raising interest rates until the first half of 2016. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde explained that” inflation rate is not progressing at a rate that would warrant, without a risk, a rate hike in the next few months.”
Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen said on May 22 that she still expects an increase in interest rates this year if the economy meets forecasts. Today, William C. Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the central bank is likely to begin raising interest rates this year if the labor market continues to improve.
Meanwhile, Douglas Coté, chief market strategist at Voya Investment Management told Bloomberg, “Good news is good news. Investors should be looking past some short-term volatility in the financial markets and get to their normal allocation in equities because ultimately this is good for the market.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17,849.46 (-0.31%)
- S&P 500- 2,092.83 (-0.14%)
- NASDAQ- 5,068.46 (+0.18%)
- Russell 2000- 1,259.55 (+0.66%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,510.01 (-1.30%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,804.60 (-0.80%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,197.15 (-1.26%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 20,460.90 (-0.13%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 27,260.16 (-1.06%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 5,498.46 (-0.11%)
Stocks in Focus
The shares of Caesars Entertainment declined more than 10% to $6.41 per share.
The stock was negatively impacted by concerns related to the lawsuits filed against it, which could block the restructuring of its subsidiary, Caesars Entertainment Operating Company.
JA Solar Holdings gained more than 12% to $9.07 per ADS. The company disclosed that its Chairman and CEO submitted a non-binding offer to buy the company for $9.68 per ADS in a going private transaction.
The stock price of Kite Pharma climbed more than 1$% to $62.19 per share. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on the development and commercialization of cancer immunotherapy products. Over the past 52 weeks, the shares of the company traded between $21 and $89.21 per share. Kite Pharma gained more than 114% in stock value over the past year. Analysts covering the stock has a short-term price target of $85.33 per share.
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