S&P 500, Dow Jones rise after strong jobs report

The S&P 500 Index and Dow Industrial Average ticked up after the Labor Department reported strong jobs growth in July, but NASDAQ Composite declined as technology heavyweights wavered.

The S&P 500 was up 0.17% to 4,436.52. The Dow Jones gained by 0.41% to 35,208.51. The NASDAQ Composite fell 0.40% to 14,835.76, and the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.53% to 2,247.76.

Of the 446 S&P 500 companies, which have reported quarterly earnings this season, 86% of them have topped analysts' forecasts. On Friday, six of the index’s 11 segments stayed in the green.

Financial and basic material stocks advanced, but consumer discretionary and technology stocks withdrew. Nasdaq edged lower after tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple retreated.

In its monthly jobs report, the Labor Department said on Friday that the US unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% in July from 5.9% in the previous month. The nonfarm payrolls rose to 943,000 from 938,000 in June as demand for workers rose in the services industry.

The Federal Reserve is expected to meet again to discuss its monetary policy in Wyoming later this month, following a similar meeting in mid-July. The Fed conference will be a major focus of investors as some board members had recently backed a rollback of stimulus due to inflation.

In corporate news, American International Group, Inc.'s (AIG) stock surged 4.90% in intraday trading after reporting its Q2 earnings, which beat analysts' estimates. The company's total revenue jumped 2.3% YoY to US$11.99 billion.

Zynga Inc.'s (ZNGA) revenue surged 59% YoY to US$711.9 million in Q2. The stock slipped about 17%. Beyond Meat, Inc’s (BYND) second-quarter net revenue rose by 31.8% to US$149.4 million YoY. The stock jumped more than 2.4% in intraday trading after the earnings report.

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In technology stocks, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) declined 0.49%, Apple Inc. (AAPL) dropped 0.78%, and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) fell 1.16%. Shopify Inc. (SHOP) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) declined by 1.50% and 1.62%, respectively.

In financial stocks, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK-A) gained 1.71%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) rose 2.47%, and Bank of America Corporation (BAC) increased by 3.02%. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) advanced 3.55%, while PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) plunged 0.73%.

In basic material stocks, BHP Group (BHP) declined 0.74%, Newmont Corp (NEM) fell 2.08%, and Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD) dropped 1.65%.

In the crypto world, Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) gained 1.47%, Bitcoin (BTC) surged 4.04%, and Ethereum (ETH) rose 3.64%.

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Top Gainers

Top performers on S&P 500 included Corteva Inc (8.01%), DXC Technology Co (6.12%), Ball Corp (5.52%), Monster Beverage Corp (5.46%). On NASDAQ, top performers were Kaixin Auto Holdings (89.22%), Sphere 3D Corp (41.28%), Westport Fuel Systems Inc (28.39%), Scworx Corp (26.27%). On Dow Jones, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (3.54%), JPMorgan Chase & Co (2.84%), Dow Inc (1.64%), Travelers Companies Inc (1.49%) were the leaders.

Top Losers

Top laggards on S&P 500 included Expedia Group Inc (-7.92%), Illumina Inc (-3.58%), IDEXX Laboratories Inc (-2.91%), Ventas Inc (-2.80%). On NASDAQ, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc (-28.14%), ICAD Inc (-23.57%), Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc (-21.60%), Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc (-21.54%). On Dow Jones, Amgen Inc (-1.64%), Home Depot Inc (-0.98%), Procter & Gamble Co (-0.76%), Nike Inc (-0.60%) were the laggards.

Volume Movers

Top volume movers were Advanced Micro Devices Inc (21.02M), Bank of America Corp (15.76M), Apple Inc (12.89M), Wells Fargo & Co (8.14M), Ford Motor Co (7.21M), Kaixin Auto Holdings (22.28M), Zynga Inc (15.00M), Robinhood Markets Inc (13.81M), Sphere 3D Corp (12.12M), Bit Digital Inc (8.30M), Plug Power Inc (7.74M).

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Futures & Commodities

Gold futures were down 2.58% to US$1,762.30 per ounce. Silver decreased by 3.91% to US$24.302 per ounce, while copper dropped 0.30% to US$4.3350.

Brent oil futures decreased by 1.16% to US$70.46 per barrel and WTI crude was down 1.51% to US$68.05.

Bond Market

The 30-year Treasury bond yields was up 4.94% to 1.954, while the 10-year bond yields rose 7.26% to 1.305.

US Dollar Futures Index increased by 0.58% to US$92.787.