U.S. stocks continued to rally, registering a fifth-straight session of gains, courtesy of eased trade fears after a migration agreement helped Mexico avoid increased U.S. tariffs that were supposed to kick in today. M&A news dominated the headlines, with Dow member United Technologies and Raytheon Company announcing combination, while Salesforce.com reported a deal to acquire Tableau Software. Treasury yields trimmed a recent plunge and the U.S. dollar gained ground. Crude oil prices extended a tumble as of late and gold gave back some of a recent rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 79 points (0.3%) to 26,063, the S&P 500 Index gained 13 points (0.5%) to 2,887, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 81 points (1.1%) to 7,823. In moderate volume, 740 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 2.0 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. WTI crude oil declined $0.73 to $53.26 per barrel and wholesale gasoline was off $0.01 at $1.73 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price fell $12.46 to $1,328.34 per ounce, and the Dollar Index— a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—advanced 0.2% to 96.74.
The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), a measure of unmet demand for labor, dipped to 7.45 million jobs available to be filled in April from March’s downwardly-adjusted 7.47 million figure, and below the Bloomberg forecast of 7.50 million. The hiring rate ticked higher to 3.9% from March’s 3.8% pace, and the separation rate remained at March’s level of 3.7%.
With increased Mexican tariffs suspended, this week’s fully-loaded economic docket could carry more weight, given the heightened rate cut expectations and looming June 19th Fed monetary policy decision. Today’s jobs data got the ball rolling and will be followed by tomorrow’s NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, along with the Producer Price Index (PPI), which will kick off a heavy dose of inflation statistics for the week that will include the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Import Price Index. To close out the week, Friday’s Fed’s industrial production and capacity utilization report is poised to find scrutiny, along with some key reads on the consumer, courtesy of retail sales and the preliminary June University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index.
Treasuries were lower, with the yields on the 2-year note and the 30-year bond rising 5 basis points (bps) to 1.90% and 2.62%, respectively, while the yield on the 10-year note gained 6 bps to 2.14%. Stocks added to last week’s rally, which snapped a four-week losing streak, and bond yields rebounded from a recent tumble. The markets were underpinned by rising expectations of a Fed rate cut, which accelerated after Friday’s softer-than-expected May nonfarm payroll report, while the migration agreement with Mexico that averted plans for increased tariffs further bolstered the markets.
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