Nasdaq and S&P Hit New Highs, Bonds Rally: What You Need to Know

On July 5, 2024, Wall Street had a big day! The Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit new record highs, and U.S. Treasurys were in demand. This happened right after a holiday break and thanks to a jobs report that supported hopes for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 (SP500) went up by 0.29% to 5,553.05 points, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.75% to 18,325.49 points. But the Dow (DJI) slipped a bit, down 0.19% at 39,234.47 points. Seven out of the 11 S&P sectors were in the green, showing a healthy market.

Before the markets opened, a report showed that job growth slowed down in June, and the unemployment rate went up a little to 4.1%. This slowdown is a sign that the job market is cooling off, according to Sarah House from Wells Fargo.

Mark Zandi from Moody's Analytics said it’s time for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates because job and wage growth are slowing down, and the unemployment rate is ticking up. This idea gained traction, with the odds of a 25 basis point rate cut in September increasing to 75%.

In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields fell because more people were buying bonds. The 30-year yield dropped to 4.48%, the 10-year yield went down to 4.29%, and the 2-year yield fell to 4.62%.

In other news, Macy's (M) saw its stock soar nearly 10% after an investor group increased their offer to buy the company for about $6.9 billion.

Over in the UK, the Labour Party won the general elections with a landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. This boosted the British pound by 0.4% against the dollar, trading at $1.2806.

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