U.S. equities showed mixed performance on Thursday following the June jobs report, which fell short of market forecasts and tempered near-term rate hike expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained approximately 0.8%, edging toward a new record high, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3% and 1.2%, respectively, extending Wednesday’s chip-sector-driven pullback.
Market participants interpreted Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Hassett’s recent remarks as a signal to rely on incoming data rather than central bank guidance for rate path projections. The payroll increase of 57,000 in June lagged behind the 113,000 consensus estimate, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%, slightly above the projected 4.3%. The cooler labor figures reinforced the argument for maintaining current interest rate levels.
Tech stocks faced continued headwinds after a sharp sell-off in South Korean semiconductor producers pressured the broader Kospi index, which dropped 7.9%. Memory chip specialists SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, both committing substantial capital expenditure to AI infrastructure, declined over 14% and 9%, respectively.
Global markets also reacted to renewed tensions in U.S.-Iran diplomacy, as oil prices dipped following Qatar’s indication that recent talks showed modest progress without achieving a resolution.
