Labor Market Slows While Dow Jones Speeds Up for Seventh Straight Day

Jobless claims on Thursday cleared 231,000 for the week, an increase of about 22,000 and a 9-month high. The Dow Jones had estimated 214,000.

Claims also were higher than expected in April as job openings have declined. Economists said weekly jobless claims were troublesome despite unemployment staying below 4%.

Yet the stock market keeps on going, with the Dow Jones closing higher for seven straight days. As the Federal Reserve desires to bring inflation below 2%, they had mentioned that job gains were particularly strong at the beginning of April.

That statement seemed to be the kiss of death as April showed signs of the labor market cracking. The jobless claims data made Wall Street optimistic about rate cuts in September as the Dow Jones went to 39,387.76.

The two-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.8%, about 3 basis points, on Thursday as investor risk appetite continued to increase.