Friends
The jobs report was impressive. 288,000 new jobs were created in June vs. the consensus estimate of 211,000. The unemployment rate fell to 6.1%. For all the flack that the Federal Reserve has taken, one must admit that we have been creating jobs in this economy. Now, one could attribute this to the Fed’s policies or perhaps this economy would have begun to heal itself anyway – whatever the reason, the job situation has been improving. The stock market liked the number, as the Dow soared above 17,000 for the first time ever, but the bond market wasn’t quite as thrilled. Remember, bonds have rallied this year on the expectation that things are not getting better. If/when things get better, bond yields should rise (bond prices fall).
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 92 points to finish the day at 17,068. The S&P 500 was up 10 to close at 1985. Gold was down $10 to trade at $1321 per ounce, while oil was down $.71 to trade at $103.77 per barrel WTI.
The markets closed at noon today and tomorrow they are closed for the 4th of July holiday. We’ll be back at it on Monday. In the meantime let’s enjoy the stock market at all-time highs. Sure, we haven’t had a 10% pullback in more than 1000 days, so yes, we will go down again at some point, but often, we don’t take the time to enjoy it when things are good.
Have a great 4th of July Holiday everyone. Be safe out there.
