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* U.S. job growth in June beats expectations
* Tesla jumps after Q2 deliveries beat
* Cruise operators, airlines among early advancers
* Indexes up: Dow 1.68%, S&P 1.48%, Nasdaq 1.45%
(Updates to open)
By Pawel Goraj and Devik Jain
July 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street opened higher on Thursday,
with the Nasdaq hitting an all-time high as data showed the U.S.
economy added jobs at a record pace in June, the latest signal
of a rebound in business activity following the easing of
coronavirus-led lockdowns.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 4.8 million jobs in June, the Labor
Department's closely watched monthly employment data showed, the
most since the government began keeping records in 1939,
although a recent surge in COVID-19 cases has threatened the
fledgling recovery. All 11 major S&P sectors were trading higher and gains were
led by financials .SPSY , basic materials .SPLRCM and energy
.SPNY stocks.
"The strong rebound would normally be an unambiguously
positive sign that a recovery is under way (but) it is being
accompanied by a sharp rise in new infections, which was what
caused the collapse in the first place," said Mike Bell, global
market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management in London.
"It is therefore too soon to say for certain that this
recovery in employment sounds the all-clear for investors."
Several states are scaling back or pausing reopenings to
tackle the spike in infections and analysts have warned of
another selloff in financial markets if the damage to Corporate
America mounts. Third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are now
expected to tumble 25%, compared with a forecast of a 2.7% drop
on April 1, according to Refinitiv data. In the second quarter,
earnings are forecast to have plunged 43%.
"People are less concerned about earnings than they are
about the guidance and what companies say about the next six
months and 2021," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great
Hill Capital Llc in New York.
At 10:10 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 431.49 points, or 1.68%, at 26,166.46, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 46.08 points, or 1.48%, at 3,161.94, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 147.27 points, or 1.45%, at 10,301.90.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O jumped 8.5% and was set for a fourth
straight session of gains after beating Wall Street estimates
for second-quarter vehicle deliveries. Travel-related stocks were also among the biggest gainers,
with cruise line operators Carnival Corp CCL.N , Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings
Ltd NCLH.N rising more than 2%.
Coty Inc COTY.N added 5.3% after it named former top
executive of L'Oreal, Sue Nabi, as its chief executive officer.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners more than 8-to-1 on
the NYSE and 3-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 30 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 84 new highs and six new lows.