The stock exchanges in New York started the second half of the year with small gains on Monday. Wall Street will remain closed on Thursday for Independence Day.
The Fourth of July is a national holiday in the United States. It celebrates the adoption of the American Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On Wednesday, the American markets will also close early for the holiday.
The Dow Jones index was up 0.5 percent at 39,310 points shortly after trading began on Monday. The broad S&P 500 index rose 0.3 percent to 5,475 points, and the tech benchmark Nasdaq gained 0.2 percent to 17,760 points.
The highlight of the week for traders in New York is the important US jobs report scheduled for the end of the week. Employment plays an important role in the interest rate policy of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve. A strong labour market gives the Fed more room to keep interest rates high for longer.
Attention will also be focused on the Fed’s most recent policy meeting minutes. This may provide more clarity on future interest rate policy. Financial markets hope the Fed will start cutting interest rates later this year.
Investors in New York are also monitoring the central bankers’ meeting in Sintra, Portugal, hosted by the European Central Bank (ECB). Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to participate in a panel discussion.
Boeing rose 3 percent. The aircraft manufacturer is buying back business units from its supplier Spirit AeroSystems (plus 3.8 percent) for $4.7 billion in shares. Boeing sold Spirit AeroSystems in 2005 to cut costs but now wants to buy it back after a long series of incidents with Boeing aircraft. Competitor Airbus will also take over parts of the company.
Meta Platforms fell 0.2 percent. The European Commission says the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, among others, exceeds European rules when using users’ personal data. The committee is, therefore, starting an investigation with possible legal consequences. If Meta has indeed broken the rules, the company could face fines of up to 10 percent of its annual global turnover from Brussels.