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US Equity Markets Mixed Amid Technology Stock Sell-Off, Decline in Crude Oil Prices

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US equity indexes were mixed on Thursday amid a sell-off in tech stocks and a decline in crude oil futures, along with lower government bond yields.

* Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday employers announced 97,006 layoffs in May, the highest for the month since 2020, up 16% from April and 3% from a year earlier.

* US initial jobless claims rose to 225,000 in the week ended May 30 from a downwardly revised 212,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for 215,000 in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

* The Associated Press reported on Thursday that Hezbollah rejected the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, while the media outlet separately reported that the US House on Wednesday approved a war powers resolution that would halt US military action against Iran.

* July West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $2.86 to settle at $93.16 per barrel, while August Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $2.53 at $95.28.

* Blackstone's (BX) shares were up about 8.3%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, after its Blackstone Private Credit Fund unit reportedly said repurchase requests equaled about 10% of shares outstanding in Q2, but it will fulfill requests representing just 5% of its value.

* Broadcom (AVGO) shares fell roughly 12%, the steepest decline on the Nasdaq, after it reported fiscal Q2 results late Wednesday. The company's fiscal Q3 and 2027 AI revenue outlook fell short of investor expectations, while Q2 results were slightly ahead of consensus, RBC and UBS said in separate notes.

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US Equity Indexes Rise Amid Broad-Based Rally in Final Leg of Trading

US equity indexes rose ahead of Thursday's close as technology partially clawed back intraday declines, helping widen a broad-based rally.The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.9% to 51,634.6, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to 7,593.2. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1% to 26,896.7, after trading lower earlier in the session.All sectors but technology and consumer staples rose. Healthcare and financials were standout gainers, followed by communication services.Broadcom's (AVGO) decision not to upgrade its 2027 artificial intelligence guidance apparently disappointed investors, especially as the chip designer reported strong semiconductor demand, UBS Securities said in a client note sent Thursday.Broadcom shares fell more than 13%, among the worst performers in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, weighing on the so-called artificial intelligence trade. Shares of Micron Technology (MU), Arm (ARM), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were among the worst performers in a group of companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, according to data compiled by Finviz.In geopolitical news, Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government, demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as more fighting there hampered efforts to end the Iran war, the Associated Press reported.This comes as the House on Wednesday approved a war powers resolution that would halt US military action against Iran, according to a separate Associated Press report. If the resolution were to pass in the Senate, where 50 of 100 senators have appeared to support it, US President Donald Trump would be required to either withdraw troops from Iran or gain approval from Congress for the war, according to an analysis from CNN.The White House, which has signaled it believes the underlying law is unconstitutional, could try to ignore the resolution, per CNN.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slumped 3% to $93.14, and Brent crude futures dropped 2.7% to $95.18.

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International

May US Nonfarm Payrolls Expected to Rise by 85,000, Unemployment Rate Seen Remaining to 4.3%

US nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 85,000 in May after a 115,000-jobs gain in April, based on a survey compiled by Bloomberg, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.3%.The May employment report is due to be released at 8:30 am ET Friday.Layoffs intentions jumped in May after another increase in April, according to a Challenger, Gray and Christmas report, with the technology sector leading the gain again due to AI. The May reading was the highest for the month since May 2020 during the pandemic.The BLS's private payrolls count, which excludes government payrolls, is expected to increase by 86,000 in May after a jobs increase of 123,000 in April. ADP reported that its measure of private payrolls rose by 122,000 jobs in May, led by education and health services and trade, transportation and utilities.Initial claims were lower in the mid-May employment survey week compared with mid-April survey week, while insured claims were higher.The National Federation of Independent Businesses reported that 29% of small business owners continued to have problems filling current positions in May, down from 34% in April.Job openings increased in April while hiring declined.On the consumer side, the percentage of respondents saying that jobs were "plentiful" in the Conference Board's May consumer confidence survey fell by 1.4 percentage points to 25.5% while those saying jobs were "hard to get" decreased by 0.8 percentage point to 18.6%, narrowing the gap between the two measures.Average hourly earnings are expected to increase by 0.3% in May after a 0.2% gain in April, while the year-over-year growth rate is expected to slow to 3.4% from 3.6%. The average workweek is expected to remain at 34.3 hours.

International

Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for June 4

Nonfarm productivity was revised down to a 0.3% gain in Q1 from a 0.8% gain in the preliminary estimate, with output growth revised down and hours worked growth unrevised.Unit labor costs are now reported up 1.8% compared with a 2.3% increase in the preliminary estimate due to the downward adjustment to productivity growth and a larger downward adjustment to compensation growth.Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported 97,006 layoff intentions in May, up from 83,387 in April and 93,816 a year ago and the highest May reading since May 2020 during the pandemic.The technology sector again led layoff intentions in the month, citing artificial intelligence as the key reason."On top of the headline AI story, we're seeing a sharp rise in cuts tied to acquisitions and mergers and a jump in bankruptcy-related losses, which tells me companies are restructuring aggressively as they reposition for an AI-driven economy," said Andy Challenger, the company's chief revenue officer.Initial jobless claims increased by 13,000 to 225,000 in the week ended May 30, lifting the four-week moving average by 6,500 to 214,750, a second straight increase.Insured claims fell by 8,000 to 1.777 million in the week ended May 23.Natural gas stocks rose by 95 billion cubic feet to 2.578 trillion cubic feet in the week ended May 29, down 0.1% from a year earlier but 5.7% higher than the seasonal average for the current week over the previous five years.