- The S&P 500 hit another record, as recovery in U.S. equities continues. Markets thrashed on news the U.S. had reached a trade deal with Vietnam and that the private sector lost 33,000 jobs in June.
Markets on Wednesday continued their rocky but unmistakably upward trajectory.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and hit a new intraday high of 6,224.61; tech giants like Nvidia and Tesla had strong sessions after sinking the day before; and the Nasdaq ticked up 0.9%.
The Dow Jones had a choppy day, sinking in the morning, shooting up 0.5% shortly before noon, and ultimately closing the day down 11 points.
Several Magnificent Seven companies rebounded. Nvidia rose 2.6% and Apple was up 2.2%. Tesla shares climbed 5% on reports that a poor sales quarter was not as bad as expected.
Markets also welcomed news the U.S. had agreed to a framework for a trade deal with Vietnam. The outlines of the deal includes a 20% tariff on all imports from Vietnam. In exchange, Vietnam will roll back trade barriers on American goods, President Donald Trump announced in a social-media post.
“We will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff,” Trump wrote.
Apparel stocks jumped on the news. Gap Inc, Lululemon, and Nike all shot up immediately once the deal became public. All three companies have major manufacturing operations in Vietnam. In the minutes after the announcement, Gap rose 2.4% and Lululemon 2.8%. Both then dropped precipitously before evening out in the session’s later hours. At market close, Gap and Lululemon shares were up both up 0.5%.
However, Nike had a similar up-and-down in the span of minutes before recovering much faster. Nike shares closed 4.1%.
Across the markets, the reaction to the Vietnam trade deal was somewhat muted after an abysmal private-employment report. ADP’s June print of the private sector said it lost 33,000 jobs that month, when analysts had expected an increase of 100,000.
That said, ADP numbers have not always been reliable indicators of what the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly reports will show. Investors will still be wondering whether June’s private-sector job losses may be an initial sign of weakness in the labor market. A slackening in the labor market was expected as analysts lowered growth estimates for the year.
“We expect the unemployment rate to edge higher in the second half of 2025 as the labor market softens in response to slower growth, with the full force of tariffs working through the economy,” wrote Oxford Economics’ lead U.S. economist Nancy Vanden Houten in a Wednesday note.
The next BLS report will influence the Fed’s rate decisions at its upcoming July meeting, especially if it proves to be as disappointing as Wednesday’s. Although contrary to what might be expected, investors seem to be brushing off the lackluster jobs report precisely because it might induce the Fed to resume cutting rates.
“Indeed, this morning’s huge miss on ADP jobs is not worrying anyone about the health of the cycle,” said Interactive Brokers senior economist José Torres. “It appears to be just the opposite, with participants excited that the Fed may assume an increasingly dovish posture in order to defend the labor market.”
