Wall Street ends higher with both NASDAQ and S&P 500 marking fresh record highs

U.S. stock indices rose on Thursday in a shortened trading session ahead of a holiday break, with both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing at new record highs and posting weekly gains.

Data released earlier in the day by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the U.S. economy added 147,000 jobs in June, surpassing Dow Jones estimates of 110,000. May’s figure was also revised up to 144,000.

Another government report showed initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 233,000 in the week ending June 28 — the lowest since May 17 — defying expectations of a rise to 240,000.

Following the strong employment data, the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury — the most sensitive to policy changes — climbed 8.3 basis points to 3.872% by 4:27 p.m. Mecca time. The 10-year yield rose 4.3 basis points to 4.336% after hitting 4.364%, while the 30-year yield added 2.6 basis points to 4.849%.

Meanwhile, data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed the U.S. services PMI rose to 50.8 in June from 49.9 in May, in line with expectations.

Wall Street will close early today, with U.S. markets shut on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8% (344 points) to 44,828, gaining 2.3% for the week. The index hit an intraday high of 44,886 and a low of 44,550.

The broader S&P 500 rose 0.8% (52 points) to 6,279, up 1.7% for the week, recording a session high of 6,284 and a low of 6,246.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 1% (208 points) to 20,601, with a weekly increase of 1.6%, reaching a high of 20,624 and a low of 20,480.