At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 23.34 points, or 0.07%, to 34,577. The S&P 500 index dropped 15.27 points, or 0.36%, at 4,193. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index declined 141.82 points, or 1.03%, to 13,615.
Total 6 out of 11 S&P 500 sectors closed down, with consumer discretionary (down 1.22%) was worst performer, followed by information technology (down 0.91%), communication services (down 0.73%), industrials (down 0.29%), and real estate (down 0.2%) sectors. Utilities (up 0.52%) sector was top gainer, followed by and consumer staples (up 0.51%), healthcare (up 0.4%), and energy (up 0.31%) sectors.
A better-than-expected U.S. weekly unemployment report and private payrolls numbers for May pointed to strengthening conditions in the labor market, while a measure of service sector activity increased to a record high, pointing to a robust economic rebound. The strong data could force the Federal Reserve to pare back its crisis support sooner than expected, despite central bank officials' reassurances to the contrary.
Market participants were awaiting for the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of May for fresh insights into the recovery in the labor market, which should offer further clarity on whether the faster-than-expected pace of economic recovery can be sustained and what that might mean for monetary policy.
ECONOMIC NEWS: US Jobless Claims Dip Below 400,000- US initial jobless claims dipped to 385,000 in the week ended May 29th, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 405,000, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. With the slightly bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims once again fell to their lowest level since hitting 256,000 in the week ended March 14, 2020. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also fell to a pandemic-era low of 428,000, a decrease of 30,500 from the previous week's revised average of 458,500.
US Private Sector Add Most Jobs Since June 2020- US private sector employment soared by 978,000 jobs in May after surging by a downwardly revised 654,000 jobs in April and forecast of 650,000 jobs, a report released by payroll processor ADP on Thursday showed. The jump in May reflected the strongest job growth since private sector employment skyrocketed by 4.350 million jobs in June of 2020. The report showed employment in the service-providing sector shot up by 850,000 jobs in May, with a jump of 440,000 leisure and hospitality jobs leading the way higher. Employment in the goods-producing sector also climbed by 128,000 jobs, reflecting job growth in both the construction and manufacturing sectors. ADP also said large businesses added 308,000 jobs during the month, while employment at small and midsized businesses increased by 333,000 jobs and 338,000 jobs, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing record growth in service sector activity in the month of May. The ISM said its services PMI rose to 64.0 in May from 62.7 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector.
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Among Indian ADR, Tata Motors fell 0.45% to $22.24, Wipro fell 1.23% to $8.01, Vedanta fell 1.63% to $15.06, and WNS Holdings fell 0.75% to $75.83. INFOSYS fell 0.78% to $19.14, ICICI Bank fell 0.5% to $17.85, and Dr Reddys Labs was down 0.58% to $71.97. HDFC Bank added 0.46% to $76.77.
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