The US stocks mostly edged up in last session, adding to latest gains on Wednesday. Tech stocks stayed in the limelight as the Nasdaq jumped 0.9% to 18,188.30 and the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5537. The Dow eased by 0.1% though to close at 39,308.00. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 have once again reached new record closing highs with this spurt. Market is focusing on the US interest rates. The minutes of the June 11-12 meeting said participants noted that progress in reducing inflation toward the Fed's 2 percent target had been slower this year than they had expected last December.
A tepid reading on the employment front also set up the stage for tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls data. The Labor Department released a report yesterday showing a modest increase by first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended June 29th.The report said initial jobless claims rose to 238,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level of 234,000.
Overall economic outlook was somewhat tepid. A report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday showed contraction by U.S. service sector activity in the month of June. The ISM said its services PMI slid to 48.8 in June from 53.8 in May, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. The report said the business activity index plunged to 49.6 in June from 61.2 in May, while the new orders index tumbled to 47.3 in June from 54.1 in May and the employment index dipped to 46.1 in June from 47.1 in May.
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