U.S. stock exchanges presented a mixed picture on Thursday. As trading concluded in New York, the Dow finished at 52,900 points, marking a gain of 1.1 percent compared to the preceding trading day. Separately, the broader S&P 500 registered a slight increase with approximately 7,483 points, while the technology-focused Nasdaq 100 dipped by 1.6 percent, closing around 29,329 points.
These market movements were influenced by new labor market data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. This data supports the focus on price stability, which was previously signaled by U.S. central bank chief Kevin Warsh on Wednesday. The American unemployment rate has slightly dropped from 4.3 percent in May to 4.2 percent in June, and the number of unemployed individuals fell from 7.3 million to 7.1 million during the same period. While this brings the Federal Reserve closer to its goal of maximum employment, concerns regarding inflation persist.
In other global markets, the European currency strengthened on Thursday evening; one euro was valued at $1.1432, meaning a dollar cost 0.8747 euros. The price of gold saw robust increases, rising by 2.2 percent to reach $4,121 per fine ounce, which translates to €115.91 per gram. Meanwhile, oil prices experienced a slight rise. At around 10 p.m. German time on Thursday, a barrel of Brent North Sea crude was priced at $71.60, an increase of three cents over the previous day’s closing price.
