NEW YORK, July 2, 2026, 11:05 EDT
- Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq moved higher as June payrolls grew by 57,000, missing the Reuters forecast of 110,000.
- Equal-weight and sector ETFs outperformed cap-weighted tech proxies in delayed trading. Semiconductor funds dropped.
- The two-year Treasury yield slid 6 basis points to 4.11% after odds for a July Fed hike fell. U.S. stock markets are closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
U.S. stocks climbed Thursday as June jobs numbers eased Fed rate hike fears without signaling a jobs crisis. Away from the headline indexes, equal-weight and sector ETFs outperformed cap-weighted tech, even though semiconductors lagged and the big indexes moved higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 447.72 points, or 0.86%, to 52,752.96 at 9:48 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 was up 49.84 points, or 0.67%, trading at 7,533.51. The Nasdaq Composite rose 146.99 points, or 0.56%, to 26,187.02.
| Cash index | Level | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,752.96 | up 0.86% |
| S&P 500 | 7,533.51 | gained 0.67% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,187.02 | added 0.56% |
ETF prices at about 10:47 a.m. EDT showed a different move. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) was up 0.24%. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP) added 0.48%. But Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ fell 0.71%. Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLK) was down 1.19%, and iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX slid 3.17%.
| Market gauge | Price | Move |
|---|---|---|
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) | $747.52 | up 0.24% |
| Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP) | $214.43 | added 0.48% |
| Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ | $720.00 | fell 0.71% |
| Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLK) | $183.41 | dropped 1.19% |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX | $580.69 | down 3.17% |
| Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLP) | $84.43 | rose 1.36% |
| Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) | $51.55 | up 1.04% |
The gap turned out to be important. RSP finished up about 24 basis points better than SPY. Consumer staples outperformed tech by 255 basis points. SOXX lagged SPY by around 341 basis points. The S&P 500 stayed in the green, but chip stocks, the usual AI trade proxy, took a hit below the surface.
Big tech names traded mixed. Apple NASDAQ:AAPL climbed 4.00% and Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT added 1.38%. Shares of NVIDIA NASDAQ:NVDA, Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ:AMD, and Micron Technology NASDAQ:MU were down.
| Company | Price | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Apple NASDAQ:AAPL | $306.15 | up 4.00% |
| Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT | $389.57 | added 1.38% |
| NVIDIA NASDAQ:NVDA | $196.55 | fell 0.52% |
| Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ:AMD | $520.72 | slid 3.73% |
| Micron Technology NASDAQ:MU | $997.49 | dropped 3.37% |
Market breadth stayed solid, with Reuters saying advancers topped decliners 3.85 to 1 on the NYSE and 2.48 to 1 on the Nasdaq. Ten of the 11 core S&P 500 sectors finished in the green, paced by gains in materials and consumer staples. Still, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite logged zero new 52-week highs or lows.
Payrolls set off the first move. The Labor Department reported nonfarm payrolls rose 57,000 in June, with the unemployment rate at 4.2%. April and May payrolls were cut by a combined 74,000. Labor force participation slipped 0.3 points to 61.5%.
| June labor data | Reading |
|---|---|
| Nonfarm payrolls | +57,000 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% |
| Labor force participation | 61.5%, fell 0.3 point |
| April-May payroll revisions | -74,000 |
| Professional/business services | +36,000 |
| Health care | +22,000 |
| Leisure/hospitality | -61,000 |
| Average hourly earnings | +0.3% from May; up 3.5% on the year |
“It’s a beautiful number. It’s the best number we could hope for,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, said the report “doesn’t scream labor-market trouble, but it does cool the narrative a bit.” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, told AP: “The labor market isn’t overheating.” Reuters
Automatic Data Processing NASDAQ:ADP pointed to a cooling private labor market the day before. The company reported private employers added 98,000 jobs in June. Pay for job-stayers was up 4.4% from a year earlier. Smaller businesses added 53,000 jobs, compared with 25,000 at large ones. “The pace of hiring is telling a story of both supply and demand,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said. ADP Media Center
Rates moved lower. MarketWatch said the two-year Treasury yield, which reacts to policy moves, dropped 6 basis points to 4.11% after the jobs numbers. Traders in fed funds futures now see a 21.9% chance of a July 29 rate hike, down from 31.5% before the report, using CME Group NASDAQ:CME data. The chance of a September hike dipped to 54.8% from 64.3%.
The Fed still isn’t giving traders much room to bet on easier policy. Chair Kevin Warsh said Wednesday, “If people thought this central bank was going to be comfortable with an inflation objective above 2%, they would be disappointed.” San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly on Thursday said policy is “slightly restrictive” and warned, “You don’t want to react quickly when the world is changing quickly.” Reuters
Oil moved bonds. Brent crude dropped 1% to $70.82 a barrel, with traders selling as AP said talks could cool the conflict with Iran. National Beverage NASDAQ:FIZZ jumped 12.9% in late prices after AP reported the company, which makes LaCroix, will pay a $3.25 special dividend.
At the stated time, New York cash equities were trading inside regular hours for both NYSE and Nasdaq, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. According to both NYSE and Nasdaq calendars, U.S. stock markets shut Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday.
