U.S. stocks surged to new record highs on Thursday, with Wall Street celebrating stronger-than-expected labor market data ahead of the July 4 holiday.
The S&P 500 was eyeing 6,300, while the Nasdaq 100 climbed to 22,860. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also rallied, coming close to 44,900 — just shy of its January peak. Small caps joined the rally, with the Russell 2000 up nearly 1%.
Investor sentiment was boosted by June's nonfarm payrolls report, which showed the U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs — well above the 110,000 forecast. The data helped ease concerns stoked by a weak private payroll report just a day earlier.
Tech stocks led the charge, with the so-called Magnificent Seven reaching a combined market cap of $18.1 trillion. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) solidified its lead as the world's most valuable company, surpassing a $3.9 trillion valuation, ahead of Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) at $3.7 trillion.
Gains were broad-based across sectors, with only consumer staples slipping 0.1%. Technology and financials outperformed.
In bond markets, Treasury yields rose for a second straight session. The 30-year yield hit 4.85% as the U.S. Senate-passed "One Big Beautiful Bill" advanced to the House.
The upbeat jobs report also lifted the U.S. dollar. The DXY index gained 0.4%, with traders scaling back expectations for a rate cut in July — now pricing in just a 7% chance, down from 25% the day before.
Commodities came under pressure as the dollar strengthened. Gold fell 0.5%, oil slipped 1% and copper declined 1.1%.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) held steady near $109,700.
Thursday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day chg. % |
| Nasdaq 100 | 22,867.69 | 1.0% |
| S&P 500 | 6,281.57 | 0.9% |
| Dow Jones | 44,864.37 | 0.9% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,244.57 | 0.8% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.9% to $575.03.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.9% to $448.52.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rallied 1% to $555.99.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 0.9% to $222.99.
- The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, up 1.5%; the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) lagged, down 0.1%.
Thursday’s Stock Movers
- Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG) stock was up 14.92% at $155.15 after news of its upcoming addition to the S&P 500 and a Wedbush price target hike from $140 to $170.
- Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) fell 4.09% to $110.12 as stronger-than-expected jobs data dampened hopes for Fed rate cuts.
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