Stock Market Today: Stocks eye record run into early July 4 close

Check back for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. equity futures edged lower in early Wednesday trading, following on from a record-setting close last night, as investors looked to a pair of labor market data releases ahead of an early close on Wall Street and the July 4 holiday.

Updated at 8:35 AM EDT

Rising claims

The Labor Department said weekly jobless claims rose by 4,000 over the period ending on June 29 to 238,000, just ahead of Wall Street forecasts, with the closely-tracked four week average rising to 238,500.

The figures aren't likely to have a huge impact on Friday's June non-farm payroll report, which is forecast to show 189,000 new jobs, year-on-year wage growth of 4% and a headline unemployment rate of 4%.

Initial jobless claims up to 238k vs. 235k est. & 234k in prior week; continuing jobless claims up to 1.858M vs. 1.84M est. & 1.832M in prior week … greatest increases in NY (+4.5k), NJ (+2.2k), & CA (+2.1k); greatest decreases in CT (-1.7k), MD (-1k), WI (-882) pic.twitter.com/cL6waOHZOk— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) July 3, 2024

Updated at 8:23 AM EDT

Private payroll data

The U.S. economy added 150,000 new jobs last month, payroll processing group ADP reported Wednesday, a smaller-than-expected tally that was paced by hiring in the leisure and hospitality sector.

Wage gains were also easing, falling below the 5% mark for the first time in nearly three years, as the broader labor market continues to cool

 “Job growth has been solid, but not broad-based,” said chief economist Nela Richardson. “Had it not been for a rebound in hiring in leisure and hospitality, June would have been a downbeat month.” 

Stock Market Today

Stocks powered higher again Tuesday, taking the S&P 500 to its first-ever close above 5,500 and extending the benchmark's year-to-date advance to around 15.5%.

Tech stocks were once again pacing session gains, led by a 10.2% advance for Tesla  (TSLA) , which followed stronger-than-expected second quarter delivery figures and helped the Nasdaq rise 0.84% to a fresh record high north of the 18,000-point mark.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were little changed in overnight dealing at 4.442%, with 2-year notes trading at 4.754% despite some dovish comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at a central banking forum in Portugal that added to the case for autumn rate cuts. 

Stocks are set for modest gains to finish out the first half of the holiday-shortened week, with markets set to close at 1 pm Eastern Time ahead of tomorrow's July 4 holiday celebrations.

Investors are focused on payroll-processing group ADP's June employment report and weekly jobless claims from the Labor Department.

The Federal Reserve will also publish minutes of its June policy meeting, but the release is expected at 2 pm Eastern, around an hour after markets are officially closed for the day.

Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 5000 suggest a 2-point opening bell dip, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 20 points to the upside. 

The Nasdaq, which is up 20.1% for the year, is priced for a 15-point advance, thanks in part to premarket gains for Nvidia  (NVDA) , Apple  (AAPL)  and Tesla.

Other stocks on the move include Eli Lilly  (LLY) , which was marked 0.63% higher at $912.44. Late on Tuesday it won Food and Drug Administration approval for its early Alzheimer's treatment. 

Paramount Global  (PARA)  shares were also on the move, rising 9.1% to $11.70 each, after reports suggested Shari Redstone and National Amusements have reached a deal to sell their controlling interest to Skydance Media for around $1.75 billion.

More Wall Street Analysts:

• Analyst updates Oracle stock price target after earnings
• Analyst reboots Trade Desk stock price target after Netflix deal
• Analysts adjust Micron stock price target ahead of earnings

In overseas markets, Britain's FTSE 100 was marked 0.54% higher ahead of tomorrow's national elections, which are expected to deliver a huge majority to the left-leaning Labour party and elevate its leader, Kier Starmer, to the position of prime minister. 

Europe's Stoxx 600, meanwhile, jumped 0.85% in Frankfurt, with tech stocks leading the advance.

Overnight in Asia, the Nikkei 225 added another 1.26% to remain firmly over the 40,000 point mark in Tokyo, while the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan index rose 0.92% into the close of trading. 

Related: Single Best Trade: Wall Street veteran picks Palantir stock