A better than expected July jobs report helped vault the markets into higher territory today. The U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs in July, well above the expected 180,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9% but today’s unemployment report sent stocks on major upswing with the S&P 500 & NASDAQ hitting new all-time highs. Merck was the big winner on the Dow, followed by Goldman Sachs. Oil closed at $41.80 per barrel. Bristol-Myers stock plummeted following word that its latest cancer drug failed to meet targets in a late-stage study. Not all experts were giddy about the markets overall gains today.
Mike Wachholz, president of Pontoon Solutions told CNBC–
“I think we’ve reached terminal velocity. I find it difficult for the labor market to keep up this pace since businesses are under pressure to make the right hiring decisions, and they know they have limited bullets in the chamber.”
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 18,543.53 (+191.48 / +1.04%)
NASDAQ: 5,221.12 (+54.87 / +1.06%)
S&P 500: 2,182.87 (+18.62/ +0.86%)
