US stocks post higher weekly result amid data, trade fears
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E-mail Xinhua, July 8, 2018
U.S. stocks ended higher for the holiday-shortened week, as investor sentiment was lifted by a batch of encouraging economic data amid the escalation of global trade tensions.
All three major indices reported positive results, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.76 percent, 1.52 percent and 2.37 percent, respectively.
Market experienced a turbulent session on Friday with a relatively downbeat opening when two among the three major indices traded lower, as Wall Street was concerned over the latest U.S.-China tariff moves.
The U.S. tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese imports took effect early Friday. China activated countermeasure tariffs on selected U.S. imports at 12:01 p.m. Beijing Time Friday.
At the market closing, all the three major indices gained, since trading mood was boosted by the strong-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 213,000 in June, beating market consensus, the U.S. Labor Department said on Friday.
Job growth occurred in professional and business services, manufacturing and health care, while retail trade lost jobs, it said.
The report also showed U.S. wage climbed 2.7 percent on a year-over-year basis in June.
Trade-war fears lingered over the past week, keeping market gains in check. However, a slew of solid data injected optimism.
The U.S. private sector employment increased by 177,000 jobs from May to June, data provider ADP and Moody's Analytics said on Thursday.
In the week ending June 30, the initial jobless claims was 231,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department reported.
On other economic news, new orders for manufactured goods in May increased US$1.8 billion or 0.4 percent to US$498.2 billion amid strong demand for machinery, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.
The U.S. manufacturing expanded in June as the PMI registered 60.2 percent, an increase of 1.5 percent points from the May reading of 58.7 percent, the Institute for Supply Management said on Monday.
The figure indicated strong growth in manufacturing for the 22nd consecutive month, led by continued expansion in new orders, production and employment.
Construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$1,309.5 billion in May, 0.4 percent above the revised April estimate of US$1,304.5 billion, reported the U.S. Commerce Department.
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