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U.S. stocks traded mixed on Thursday.
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Nvidia rose further, a day after its shares surged to become the world’s second-largest company.
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The ECB cut interest rates for the first time since 2019.
U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday, a day after Nvidia’s record gains and as markets struggled to find direction ahead of the release of the highly anticipated May nonfarm payrolls report.
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the United States last week hit a nearly four-week high, with 229,000 claims. While higher than expected, the figure is still historically low and signals the labor market remains strong as the unemployment rate remains at its lowest in decades.
On Friday, investors will get a more detailed picture of the labor market when the nonfarm payrolls report for May comes out. Employers are expected to have added 175,000 jobs last month, roughly the same as April’s figure.
Friday’s report will be key in supporting the possibility of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve, as data showing a cooling job market has raised expectations of a rate cut. Federal funds rate futures are pricing in the first rate cut in September, but commentators said last week that July could be back on the table if inflation is cooperative in the next few consumer price index reports.
Nvidia shares continued to rise through Wednesday’s trading, with the chipmaker rising more than 5% to overtake Apple in market capitalization and become the world’s second-largest company after Microsoft. Nvidia’s market capitalization was $3.1 trillion as of Wednesday’s close.
Below are U.S. stock indexes as of the start of trading at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
What else is happening today:
Commodities, Bonds and Cryptocurrencies:
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Oil futures rose. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $74.56 a barrel. The international benchmark Brent crude rose 0.5% to trade at $78.79 a barrel.
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Gold rose to $2,376 an ounce.
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The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 2 basis points to 4.312%.
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Bitcoin rose 0.1% to $71.058.
Read the original article on Business Insider
