U.S. stocks posted modest gains this week as investors digested a batch of economic data.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Dow, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq edged up 0.3 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
On the economic front, U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 222,000 in June, well above market consensus of 170,000, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent in June.
In June, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to 26.25 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 63 cents, or 2.5 percent.
"This was a strong jobs report, with a better-than-expected payroll rise augmented by a solid upward revision," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.
"From a longer term perspective, this jobs report confirms the economy is humming along at a moderate pace with no significant wage pressures. The Fed can and should take its time normalizing policy," he wrote.
The non-manufacturing index came in at 57.4 percent in June, which is 0.5 percentage point higher than the May reading of 56.9 percent, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday.
U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday that the goods and services deficit was 46.5 billion U.S. dollars in May, down 1.1 billion dollars from April's revised reading.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released minutes from June meeting on Wednesday. According to the minutes, the information reviewed for the June meeting showed that labor market conditions continued to strengthen in recent months and suggested that real gross domestic product (GDP) was expanding at a faster pace in the second quarter than in the first quarter.
"Members agreed that, in determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee would assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation," said the minutes.
The minutes also showed that Fed officials believe the central bank's massive 4.5-trillion-U.S.-dollar balance sheet can be reduced with "limited" disruption to financial markets.
In addition, the June purchasing managers index came in at 57.8 percent, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from the May reading of 54.9 percent and beating market consensus of 55.1 percent, the Institute for Supply Management reported Monday.
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index registered 52.0 in June, down from 52.7 during May. U.S. construction spending during May 2017 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,230.1 billion U.S. dollars, nearly the same as the revised April estimate, the Commerce Department said Monday.
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