The 10-year U.S. government bond yield stood at 4.49%, while Gold (CM:XAUUSD) rose 0.31% to $4,136.40, oil (CM:CL) gained 0.27% to $68.44, and Bitcoin (BTC-USD) declined 2.78% to $61,450.73.
Jobs Data Lifts Rate-Hold Hopes
The main macro event of the week was the June jobs report, which gave investors a mixed read on the economy. Non-farm payrolls rose by just 57,000, well below expectations for 113,000 jobs. The unemployment rate, however, unexpectedly dipped to 4.2%, instead of rising to 4.3% as economists expected.
Markets focused more on the soft headline payroll number. U.S. equity futures climbed after the report, while two-year Treasury yields fell to 4.11% from 4.19% in the minutes after the release. The move suggested investors saw less urgency for the Federal Reserve to raise rates again, even as inflation pressures remain sticky.
That helped the Dow push to a record high. The Nasdaq moved the other way, as investors trimmed exposure to some of the market’s strongest AI and semiconductor winners. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU), Nvidia Corporation (NVDA), and Intel Corporation (INTC) all came under pressure as traders reassessed valuations across the chip space.
