US stocks dip as jobs report shows hiring is cooling while wage growth remains hot

The newest Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed an unexpected rise in wage growth last month while hiring slowed.

• Stocks dipped on the newest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Hiring cooled in June, with 209,000 new jobs added
• But wage growth remained hot, with an annual rise of 4.4% last month.

US stocks dipped on Friday after the latest jobs report showed hiring cooled in June but wage growth remained hot, providing a mixed bag of data for the US central bank to sift through as it heads into its next policy meeting at the end of the month. 

According to the newest Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 209,000 new positions were added last month, and unemployment fell to 3.6%. That figure is below expectations of around 225,000 new jobs, according to economists polled by Reuters.

But wage growth rose more than predicted, up 4.4% on an annualized basis, while the average hourly earnings edged up 0.4%. 

While slower hiring gets the Federal Reserve closer to its goal of cooling the economy, higher than expected wage growth provides fodder for Chair Jerome Powell to keep policy tight and raise rates further to bring inflation down near its long-run 2% target. 

Fed fund futures are pricing in more than 90% odds that the Fed raises rates 25 basis points this month, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, down slightly from 95% after Thursday's blowout ADP jobs number. 

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,404.01, down 0.18% 

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,851.08, down 0.23% (77.41 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 13,671.30, down 0.06% 

Here's what else is going on: 

• Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman warned of the danger around Nvidia hype, and expects a recession to hit next year.
• The stock rally is sentiment driven, while interest rates will "break the back of something" in markets, David Rosenberg cautioned.
• The 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped to 7.22% on Thursday, fueled by an unexpectedly strong economic data.
• Microsoft top a $3 trillion valuation by early 2024, according to Morgan Stanley.
• More oil from Iran is hitting the market, as the nation's supply helps fill the gap left by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• The West Texas Intermediate edged down 0.4% to $71.48 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dipped 0.3% to $76.26 a barrel.
• Gold climbed 0.6% to $1,927.10 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.056%.
• Bitcoin fell 1% to $30,261.