The US stock markets are closed Friday with minor losses. Investors processed a strong job report from the US government. Just like in Europe, chip companies were out of favor because of a profit warning from South Korean Samsung Electronics.
The Dow-Jones index ended 0.2 percent lower at 26,922.12 points. The broad S&P 500 also dropped 0.2 percent, to 2990.41 points, and the Nasdaq technology exchange dropped 0.1 percent to 8161.79 points. US investors came back after a day off. Thursday Wall Street was closed due to the celebration of Independence Day.
The monthly job report turned out better than expected. Employment in the United States grew by 224,000 jobs in June, while economists generally expected an increase of 160,000 jobs.
Investors always find these figures very interesting because they can influence the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. The stronger than expected job growth could lead to more restraint at the American umbrella of central banks when it comes to possible interest rate cuts. After the publication of the job report, the gold price also fell sharply.
Samsung, the world’s largest chip producer, said profits in the second quarter were halved, partly due to trade tensions between the US and China. Chip companies listed in New York such as Micron Technology, Intel, NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments and Nvidia gave up almost 1.6 percent.
The financial sector was one of the few sectors that was popular on Wall Street. For example, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were up to almost 1 percent in the green.
Payment service providers FIS and Worldpay ended up 0.3 percent higher. The European Commission has agreed to their merger, which involves 43 billion dollars. Brussels sees no competition concerns and therefore does not impose any conditions on the deal.
The euro was worth $1.1225, against $1.1213 at the close of the European stock markets earlier in the day. A barrel of American oil cost 0.5 percent more at $57.61. Brent oil rose 1.6 percent in price to $64.28 a barrel.
