Wall Street Continues Rising Ahead of Key Payrolls Report
On Monday, stocks on Wall Street rose and continued recent gains as investors waited for more clues on interest rates from several Federal Reserve officials and labor market reports this holiday-shortened week.
The NASDAQ Composite rose 22 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 14 points, or 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 240 points, or 0.6%.
The major indices began the new week–shortened by the Independence Day holiday on Thursday — on a high note, adding to the previous quarter’s gains.
For Q2, the NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 added 8.3% and 3.9%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 1.7%.
The Nasdaq recorded the third straight positive quarter for the first time since a 5-quarter streak that ended in 2021, as major tech stocks led the way on enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
This week’s focus will be on June’s release of key nonfarm payrolls data on Friday. The report will likely provide more clues into the labor market, whose strength has been a key point of contention for the Fed in reducing rates.
A key inflation gauge for the Fed, the PCE price index, showed late last week that inflation was declining very gradually.