U.S. Stocks Mixed as ADP Jobs Data Misses; Trump Pressures Fed, Bond Yields Slide

Weaker-than-expected job growth and a surprise services sector contraction weighed on markets; Trump calls for rate cuts, while housing and chip stocks rally.

The Dow dipped 91.90 points or 0.2 percent to 42,427.74, the S&P 500 inched up 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 5,970.81 and the Nasdaq rose 61.53 points or 0.3 percent to 19,460.49.

payroll processor ADP released a report showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of May. It also said private sector employment rose by 37,000 jobs in May after climbing by a downwardly revised 60,000 jobs in April.

Following the release of the ADP report, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social urging Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates. Institute for Supply Management released a report showing service sector activity in the U.S. unexpectedly saw a slight contraction in the month of May. It also said it?s services PMI fell to 49.9 in May from 51.6 in April, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. The Fed is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting later this month, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 95.6 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged.

Broader markets showed a lacklustre performance, housing stocks moved significantly higher on the day, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 1.7 percent. Semiconductor stocks were considerably strong, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Gold and pharmaceutical stocks also saw some strength on the day, while energy stocks came under pressure as the price of crude oil gave back ground following a two-day surge.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.8 percent while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent. The major European markets also moved upside. The German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher in reaction to the latest U.S. economic data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, plunged 9.5 bps to 4.36 percent.

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