On Thursday, U.S. markets soared to fresh record closes, as investors shrugged off slim hopes of a near-term rate cut and found confidence in a surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report. Meanwhile, Nvidia's meteoric rise continued, inching the chipmaker closer to a historic valuation milestone.
Shares of Nvidia rose by 1.3%, boosting the company's market cap to $3.89 trillion. At this pace, Nvidia may soon surpass Apple to become the most valuable publicly traded company in history.
June's employment data offered a strong dose of optimism. The U.S. economy added 147,000 nonfarm jobs — beating economists' forecasts by 33%. Unemployment dropped to 4.1%, better than the expected 4.3%, reinforcing confidence in economic resilience.
Despite a shortened trading day ahead of the Independence Day holiday, market momentum remained strong, pushing key indices to fresh highs.
Market closing figures:
Market participants have swiftly adjusted their expectations: a rate cut from the Federal Reserve in July now seems less likely. According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25 basis point cut in September dropped to 68 percent, down from 74 percent just a week ago.
After the closing bell, House Republicans gave the green light to former President Donald Trump's sweeping proposal to slash both taxes and federal spending — a widely anticipated outcome.
However, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned that the bill would add 3.4 trillion dollars to the national debt, which currently stands at 36.2 trillion. Additionally, millions of Americans could lose their health insurance under the new fiscal plan.
Tripadvisor shares jumped 16.7 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Starboard Value acquired more than 9 percent of the travel platform's stock.
Datadog saw an even bigger leap — up 14.9 percent — following news that the cloud security company will replace Juniper Networks in the S&P 500 index.
Markets closed early at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Trading volume across U.S. exchanges was light, totaling 10.85 billion shares — well below the 20-day average of 17.82 billion.
Asian stock markets ended Friday with mixed results, as investors turned cautious despite record highs on Wall Street the day before. With the deadline for U.S. trade agreements approaching next week, uncertainty weighed on regional sentiment.
The U.S. dollar regained some of its earlier momentum from Thursday, as American markets entered a week-long break. Traders are now watching closely as President Trump prepares to sign a sweeping spending bill with significant economic implications.
Asian markets responded unevenly. Japan's Nikkei index edged up by 0.3 percent following an early session marked by volatility.
Elsewhere in the region:
Late Thursday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed President Trump's extensive fiscal bill, spanning 869 pages. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will raise the national debt by 3.4 trillion dollars, bringing the total to 36.2 trillion.
President Trump also announced plans to send formal letters to trading partners outlining updated tariff rates, as existing deals remain unresolved ahead of the July 9 deadline.
He expressed optimism about reaching more trade agreements in the coming days. Following a finalized deal with Vietnam earlier this week, the U.S. currently has only two framework agreements in place — with China and the United Kingdom — which remain the sole confirmed outcomes of his current trade agenda.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced earlier this week that a trade agreement with India is nearing completion. Meanwhile, negotiations with Japan and South Korea — once celebrated by the White House as early wins — now appear to be falling apart, raising doubts about their future inclusion in Washington's trade agenda.
Thursday's employment report defied expectations, painting a picture of a stronger-than-expected U.S. economy. Analyst Sycamore noted, "The data shows the economy is holding up far better than most anticipated, and that suggests markets could easily continue their upward path from here."
The robust labor market data prompted traders to abandon expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut this month. Optimism about monetary easing has effectively evaporated — at least in the short term.
The U.S. dollar gained ground against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, rising as much as 0.7 percent before paring back to close the session up 0.4 percent.
By Friday morning, the greenback had pulled back slightly:
Elsewhere in currencies:
Gold prices edged up 0.1 percent, reaching 3329.54 dollars per ounce.
Oil futures showed slight increases:
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