U.S. stock futures rose Friday morning after the release of the better-than-expected June jobs report. All major Street indexes finished in the green Thursday, as Wall Street kicked off the second half of 2021 on a positive note after a strong first six months. The S&P 500 advanced 0.5% to 4,319.94, setting its sixth consecutive record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 131 points, finishing the session at 34,633.53. The 30-stock Dow has risen for three sessions in a row and sits at its highest level since June 4. The tech-heavy Nasdaq on Thursday rose 0.13% to 14,522.38. The major averages are all positive for the week and on pace for their second straight weekly gain.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 850,000 in June, the Labor Department said Friday. The figure is better than the 706,000 jobs that economists had expected, according Dow Jones estimates. However, the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.9%, while projections called for it to decline to 5.6%. Average hourly earnings rose 0.33% in June and 3.6% on a year-over-year basis; both figures are in line with estimates. The Labor Department’s jobs reports for April and May missed Wall Street’s expectations, as businesses across industries indicated they were having challenges filling open positions.