By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Economy adds 223,000 jobs in June, unemployment rate falls to
5.3%
U.S. stocks ended a volatile holiday-shortened week with losses,
as investors grappled with heightened uncertainty tied to Greece
ahead of a Sunday referendum to vote on the country's status as a
eurozone member. Financial markets will be closed on Friday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/which-markets-are-closed-for-us-independence-day-2015-07-01)
to observe U.S.'s Independence Day.
Greece and its lenders failed to reach an agreement over bailout
funds, resulting in a missed payment to the IMF on Tuesday.
Opinion: Stop lying to the Greeks--life without the euro is
great
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stop-lying-to-the-greeks-life-without-the-euro-is-great-2015-07-02)
The main indexes ended the session marginally lower, as trading
amid low volumes was muted.
The S&P 500 ended one point lower at 2,076.27 and recorded a
1.2% loss over the week, its second weekly loss in a row. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average slipped 27.80 points, or 0.2%, to
17,730.11 and fell 1.2% over the week. The Nasdaq Composite closed
3.91 points, or 0.1% lower at 5,009.21 and booked a 1.4% loss over
the week.
On Thursday, investors digested reports on the health of the
labor market with monthly jobs report and weekly unemployment
claims coming in softer than expected.
Government data for June showed the economy added 223,000 new
jobs
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-adds-223000-jobs-in-june-as-unemployment-falls-to-7-year-low-2015-07-02),
in line with forecasts by economists polled by MarketWatch.
However, May and April numbers were cut. The unemployment rated
ticked down to 5.3%, but mostly due to more people leaving the
labor force. Separately, weekly jobless claims climbed 10,000 to
281,000.
Analysts noted that the report was solid enough for the Federal
Reserve to raise interest rates in September, yet a lack of wage
growth could give policy makers an excuse to wait until
December.
David O'Malley, CEO at Penn Mutual Asset Management, said the
jobs reports should have provided enough uncertainty about the
timing of the next rate hikes to keep stocks moving higher.
"It was a Goldilocks report,- mediocre but with a little bit of
something for everyone. This also means that the Fed is not under
tremendous pressure to raise rates. We still think that September
rate hike is most likely, as the report does not seem to be too
weak for them to pause," O'Malley said.
Some analysts suggested that the report may give the Fed an
excuse to wait until December to begin raising rates.
(https://twitter.com/JohnCanally/status/616585897824358400)
Colleen Supran, a principal at San Francisco-based Bingham,
Osborn & Scarborough, said the Fed is more likely to err on the
side of caution if the next few jobs reports are as
disappointing.
Corporates: Health Net (HNT) shares jumped 10% after Centene
(CNC) has agreed to buy the company in a cash-and-stock deal worth
$6.8 billion. Centene shares dropped 3.6%.
Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) climbed 4% as the company said
second-quarter deliveries of its 11,507 Model S vehicles jumped 52%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-delivers-record-11507-model-s-vehicles-in-second-quarter-2015-07-02)
from the year-earlier period.
Xoom Corp. (XOOM) surged 21% after the digital payments company
received a buyout bid from PayPal Inc. (EBAY) on Wednesday.
Progress Software Corp. (PRGS) climbed 6% after the
business-software company raised its outlook for the year following
better-than-expected earnings.
Other markets: European stocks turned slightly lower after
comments from Greece's finance minister on the debt crisis. See the
latest news about Greece here
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-debt-crisis-latest-news-2015-06-29).
Overnight in Asia, Chinese shares
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-shares-slide-as-beijings-moves-to-calm-markets-fall-short-2015-07-02)
continued their slide, leaving the Shanghai Composite down
3.4%.
The dollar fell after the release of jobs figures, while
Treasurys rallied, sending the yield on the 10-year note down 4
basis point to 2.38%.
Oil futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-but-struggle-to-recover-from-sharp-fall-on-us-supply-data-2015-07-02)
settled marginally lower at $56.93 and booked a 4.5% drop over the
week. Gold futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-trims-losses-after-us-jobs-data-2015-07-02)
fell 0.5% to settle at $1,163.50, its lowest level in more than
three months.
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