Wall Street hits yet more records Stock market today: Wall Street's scorching rally sets more records as hopes rise for rate cuts

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks rose to more records Friday after a highly anticipated report on the job market bolstered Wall Street's hopes that interest rates may soon be cut.

The S&P 500 climbed 30.17 points, or 0.5%, to 5,567.19, setting an all-time high for a third straight day following Thursday's pause in trading for the Fourth of July holiday. The index already set 34 records and climbed close to 17% this year, which is only a little more than halfway done.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.87 points, or 0.2%, to 39,375.87, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to its own record, rising 164.46 points to 39,375.87.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank following a U.S. jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.27% from 4.36% late Wednesday and from 4.70% in April. The two-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve action, fell to 4.60% from 4.71% late Wednesday.

Employers hired more workers last month than economists expected, but the number was still a slowdown from May's hiring. Plus, the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher, growth for workers' wages slowed and the U.S. government said hiring in earlier months was lower than previously indicated.

That data reinforced belief on Wall Street that the U.S. economy's growth is slowing under the weight of high interest rates. A slowdown could push the Federal Reserve to begin cutting its main interest rate from the highest level in two decades.

The jobs report keeps the Fed on track to cut its main interest rate later this year. Investors hope the Fed will lower interest rates early and significantly enough to keep the economic slowdown from sliding into a recession, but not so much that inflation takes off again.

On Wall Street, gold miner Newmont rose 2.4% for one of the larger gains in the S&P 500. It benefited from a rise in the price of gold, which usually strengthens when interest rates fall.

Gains for some big, influential stocks also helped support the market, though the majority of stocks in the S&P 500 fell. Meta Platforms jumped 5.9%, and Apple added 2.2%.

Amazon rose 1.2% after the announcement of a deal where the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue will buy Neiman Marcus Group for $2.65 billion. Amazon will hold a minority stake in the combined company.

On the losing end were companies tied closely to cryptocurrency activity, as bitcoin briefly tumbled below $54,000 from nearly $63,000 early this week before recovering a bit. The cryptocurrency's value fell roughly back to where it was in February.

Coinbase Global slipped 0.6%, and Robinhood Markets fell 1%.