Market Recap

Week Ending 4th July 2025

European Stocks slipped on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump got his signature tax cut bill over the line and attention turned to his July 9 deadline for countries to secure trade deals with the world’s biggest economy.

IN THE USA…Stocks, bond yields and the dollar gained on Thursday after a strong jobs report soothed nerves about how the economy is faring during the early stages of President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign.

After a shortened trading day in advance of Friday’s July Fourth holiday, the Dow closed higher by 344 points, or 0.77%. The broader S&P 500 rose 0.83% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.02%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh record highs. The Dow closed just 186 points away from hitting an all-time high.

Stocks had jumped higher in the morning after new data showed the economy added 147,000 jobs in June, exceeding expectations. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.1% from 4.2%.

The strong headline numbers provided relief for investors who were nervous about a potential slowdown in the economy as the president’s tariffs portend to impact business activity.

While markets jumped higher, investors also noted caution. The breakdown of job growth showed a less rosy picture, with the private sector showing signs of weakness, according to Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

“There was one cautionary note,” Baird said. “Private sector hiring was fairly weak. So, that’s the asterisk that I would put on the report, and something to watch.”

Job growth in June was not widespread across sectors. Meanwhile, the average duration of unemployment rose and the share of unemployed workers who have been out of a job for 27 weeks or longer edged closer to a three-year high.

“Businesses are a little bit more hesitant to hire,” Baird said. “Lots of questions still related to the impact of trade, tariffs and the tax code making its way through Congress. I think there has been a cautious tone on the hiring front that we’ve been seeing and hearing about for some period of time. And I think that did show up in the numbers this month.”

Treasury yields jumped higher as investors dialed back expectations for future rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The 10-year yield rose to 4.34% and the 30-year yield rose to 4.86%.

The US dollar index, which measures the dollar’s strength against six major foreign currencies, gained 0.45%. The dollar index was set for its biggest daily gain in nearly two weeks.

US Closed Friday due to public holiday, Thursday’s prices at close….