Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Hot streak
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each touched fresh all-time highs on Wednesday and closed at records. (The markets were off Thursday for the July Fourth holiday.) The broad market index added 0.51%, while the tech-heavy index climbed 0.88%, led by megacap technology names such as Tesla and Nvidia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the outlier, slipping 23.85 points, or 0.06%, for the day. Trading volume was muted Wednesday, as the New York Stock Exchange closed early. Follow live market updates.
2. Slowing down?
Signage at a job fair at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, North Carolina, US, on Thursday, April 11, 2024.
Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Friday’s jobs report is expected to show slowing payroll gains as concerns grow about the broader economy. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones project that the June nonfarm payrolls report, which is set to drop at 8:30 a.m. ET, will show growth of 200,000. If that pans out, it would be down from the 272,000 reported for May. The projected pace of job growth is still solid, but investors and economists will be watching the unemployment rate, which has been slowly increasing. It ticked higher to 4% in May, the first time it had hit that threshold since January 2022, and the forecast is for it to hold there.
3. Luxury goes global
Saks Fifth Avenue store at the Waterside Shops.
John Greim | Lightrocket | Getty Images
HBC, the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, said it will acquire fellow luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group in a deal worth $2.65 billion. The acquisition will create Saks Global, which will include Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus’ namesake department store chain and Bergdorf Goodman. Saks.com CEO Marc Metrick will become the chief executive for Saks Global as part of the deal, and HBC CEO Richard Baker will serve as executive chairman at the company. The deal comes at a turbulent time for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, which have struggled in light of the e-commerce boom.
4. Fed talks
A trader works, as a screen broadcasts a news conference by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the Fed rate announcement on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, June 12, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Federal Reserve officials at their June meeting indicated that inflation is moving in the right direction. But they reiterated that they’re not ready to cut interest rates from their current range until they have “greater confidence” that inflation is moving towards the Fed’s 2% goal. Minutes from the meeting that were released Wednesday showed there was some disagreement among the 19 central bankers who took part in the talks, with some even indicating that they could be inclined to raise rates. But ultimately they decided to hold rates steady at 5.25%-5.50%.
5. Biden backlash
US President Joe Biden speaks about extreme weather at the DC Emergency Operations Center in Washington, DC, on July 2, 2024.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
Some wealthy Democratic donors, including an heiress to the Disney family fortune, said they’ll withhold donations to the party until President Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race. The uprising comes after Biden’s disastrous debate performance raised concerns about Biden’s ability to win the race against former President Donald Trump. Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company co-founder Roy O. Disney, has funded the party for years but told CNBC that she’s stopping her contributions because “the stakes are far too high.” And she isn’t alone. Gideon Stein, the president of the Moriah Fund, also said he’s pausing planned donations of $3.5 million unless Biden steps aside. The president has said he has no plans to withdraw.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Jeff Cox and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.
— Follow broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.