U.S. stocks ended mixed for the holiday-shortened week, as investors pondered over political uncertainties amid economic data.
U.S. stocks started the week with a sharp decline, after closing on Monday in observance of Memorial Day, as Italian political uncertainty weighed on the market.
With an assertive move to put a temporary end to an 85-day-long stalemate, Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday named economist Carlo Cottarelli as new prime minister-designate.
Cottarelli was asked to form a technical cabinet to lead the country to snap elections -- either in late 2018 or early 2019 -- after the efforts by anti-establishment Five Star Movement and rightwing League to form a government failed on Sunday.
Investor sentiment was also dampened by trade tensions between the United States and its major trading partners.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday that the country would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the European Union, Canada and Mexico from Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump had decided not to extend the temporary steel and aluminum tariff exemptions for these three key trading partners, Ross told reporters at a conference call.
Analysts said that the administration's latest move is likely to further increase trade frictions between the United States and its major trading partners.
Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on up to 16.6 billion Canadian dollars (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of U.S. steel, aluminum and other products, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the EU on Friday requested consultations with the United States on its steel and aluminum tariffs, under the dispute settlement framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a WTO official said.
"The EU believes these unilateral U.S. tariffs are unjustified and at odds with WTO rules. This is protectionism, pure and simple," Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said in a statement.
However, a strong jobs report for May provided some support to the market. U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in May, much higher than economists' estimate of 188,000, the Labor Department said Friday.
In May, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 percent, notching a 18-year low, said the department.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to 26.92 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 71 cents, or 2.7 percent, according to the department.
"At 3.8%, the unemployment rate is now at its 2000 cycle low. If it falls any more, we' ll have to go back 50-60 years to find a comparable level of employment health," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.
On other economic news, the manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers' index (PMI), registered 58.7 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the April reading, according to the latest report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
In the week ending May 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 234,000.
U.S. personal income increased by 49.5 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent in April, and disposable personal income increased 60.9 billion dollars, or 0.4 percent, while personal consumption expenditures increased 79.8 billion dollars, or 0.6 percent.
U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the second estimate released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased in May, following a modest decline in April after a downward revision. The index now stands at 128.0, up from 125.6 in April.
For the holiday-shortened week, the blue-chip Dow dipped 0.5 percent, and the broader S&P 500 added 0.5 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.6 percent.
U.S. stocks started the week with a sharp decline, after closing on Monday in observance of Memorial Day, as Italian political uncertainty weighed on the market.
With an assertive move to put a temporary end to an 85-day-long stalemate, Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday named economist Carlo Cottarelli as new prime minister-designate.
Cottarelli was asked to form a technical cabinet to lead the country to snap elections -- either in late 2018 or early 2019 -- after the efforts by anti-establishment Five Star Movement and rightwing League to form a government failed on Sunday.
Investor sentiment was also dampened by trade tensions between the United States and its major trading partners.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Thursday that the country would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the European Union, Canada and Mexico from Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump had decided not to extend the temporary steel and aluminum tariff exemptions for these three key trading partners, Ross told reporters at a conference call.
Analysts said that the administration's latest move is likely to further increase trade frictions between the United States and its major trading partners.
Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on up to 16.6 billion Canadian dollars (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) worth of U.S. steel, aluminum and other products, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the EU on Friday requested consultations with the United States on its steel and aluminum tariffs, under the dispute settlement framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a WTO official said.
"The EU believes these unilateral U.S. tariffs are unjustified and at odds with WTO rules. This is protectionism, pure and simple," Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said in a statement.
However, a strong jobs report for May provided some support to the market. U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in May, much higher than economists' estimate of 188,000, the Labor Department said Friday.
In May, the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 percent, notching a 18-year low, said the department.
Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 8 cents to 26.92 U.S. dollars. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 71 cents, or 2.7 percent, according to the department.
"At 3.8%, the unemployment rate is now at its 2000 cycle low. If it falls any more, we' ll have to go back 50-60 years to find a comparable level of employment health," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.
On other economic news, the manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers' index (PMI), registered 58.7 percent, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the April reading, according to the latest report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
In the week ending May 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 234,000.
U.S. personal income increased by 49.5 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent in April, and disposable personal income increased 60.9 billion dollars, or 0.4 percent, while personal consumption expenditures increased 79.8 billion dollars, or 0.6 percent.
U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to the second estimate released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased in May, following a modest decline in April after a downward revision. The index now stands at 128.0, up from 125.6 in April.
For the holiday-shortened week, the blue-chip Dow dipped 0.5 percent, and the broader S&P 500 added 0.5 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.6 percent.
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