US open: Mixed trading on the Street following new Chinese tariffs
Trading on Wall Street kicked-off on a positive note despite a hit to sentiment from the launch of US trade tariffs against China overnight and a lacklustre jobs report.
As of 1540 BST, the Dow Jones was flat on 24,357.75, while the S&P 500 had gained 0.27% to 2,744.20 and the Nasdaq collected 0.57% to 7,629.97
On the global trade front, 25% tariffs on $34bn-worth of Chinese goods kicked-in one minute past midnight in Washingon DC. Beijing retaliated in kind shortly thereafter.
According to analysts at Oxford Economics, "Besides criticising the US move and vowing to retaliate, today's statement by China's Ministry of Commerce also indicated restraints and continued commitment to reform and globalisation."
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was off 0.58% to $2.81 and at its intraday low.
In data news, the rate of unemployment rose unexpectedly in June to 4.0% (consensus: 3.8%), but only because more Americans were tempted to come out and look for a job, a positive sign perhaps for those hoping to see a so-called 'supply-side' boost to the economy in the wake of the White House's tax cuts.
Indeed, other aspects of the report appeared to indicate that the labour market was continuing to hum along nicely, albeit with a bit more slack remaining than in May, which was a good thing.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US non-farm payrolls grew by 213,000 last month, alongside combined upwards revisions to the prior two months' worth of data of 37,000.
Nevertheless, that was entirely due to a jump of 601,000 in the number of persons in the work-force, whereas only 102,000 more were employed, leaving those now classified as unemployed - but searching for work - up by 499,000 at 6.564m.
"This report is generally risk-friendly, as it suggests that the US economy remains in its sweet spot: employers are hiring, however, wages aren’t rising fast enough to trigger sharper than expected rate rises from the Federal Reserve. Hence why S&P 500 futures prices have moved into positive territory in the immediate aftermath of the report," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Capital Index.
In the company space, JP Morgan dipped 0.058% as it denied a report in the German press that it might be interested in taking a stake in Deutsche Bank.
Shares of Biogen shot up 17.58% higher, after it announced positive Phase II trial results for its Alzheimer's treatment, alongside Japan's Eisai.
Caterpillar lost 0.87% announced the second phase of its expansion to its North Little Rock facility, while WWE picked up 1.80% after it signed a new five-year deal with USA Network and Fox Sports.