U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining over 250 points on Thursday. The market moved as investors digested fresh economic data indicating a cooling labor market. The Dow traded up 0.47% to 52,553.59, while the S&P 500 rose 0.41% to 7,513.76. The Nasdaq also climbed, gaining 0.32% to 26,124.28.

US Labor Market Cools

The U.S. labor market showed signs of cooling in June, with employers adding 57,000 jobs. This figure fell short of the 110,000 jobs economists had expected and marked a sharp deceleration from May’s reading of 129,000. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.2%, coming in below the 4.3% consensus estimate. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% on the month, matching expectations, and were up 3.5% from a year earlier. U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 1,000 from the previous week in the final week of June, recording the lowest level in five weeks.

Sector Performance

Sector performance was mixed during the session. Consumer staples shares jumped by 1.1%, leading the gains. In contrast, communication services stocks fell by 0.4%. The divergence highlighted selective investor risk appetite amid the economic updates.

Major Indices Performance

The following table summarises the performance of major U.S. indices:

Top Movers

Several stocks experienced significant volatility. CaliberCos Inc. shares shot up 80% to $1.16 after announcing the next phase of its real estate fund tokenization strategy using the Chainlink platform. Liminatus Pharma Inc. surged 65% to $0.19 following an amended merger agreement with InnocsAI LLC. StablecoinX Inc. gained 60% to $3.32 on the launch of its infrastructure software platform.

On the downside, Linkhome Holdings Inc. dropped 40% to $1.64 after a massive 315% jump in the prior session. Token Cat Limited fell 43% to $2.73, and Eason Technology Limited declined 30% to $0.6123 after stating it was unaware of any material non-public information driving recent trading activity.

Commodities and Global Markets

Commodities saw mixed movement. Oil traded down 1.2% to $67.77, while gold traded up 1.2% at $4,132.60. Silver rose 1.9% to $61.640, and copper increased 0.3% to $6.1970. European shares were higher, with the STOXX 600 rising 1.3%. Asian markets closed mixed; Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.47%, while India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.75%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average turned lower after the market open, declining 163.77 points, or 0.31%, to reach 52,155.43. The move marks a reversal from the index's earlier rebound, as renewed selling pressure pushed the benchmark back into negative territory during the session.

Market Movement at Open

The following table summarizes the updated Dow Jones movement recorded after the market open:

The index's decline reflects a shift in early trading sentiment, with sellers regaining control to pull the benchmark below the flatline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average registered a loss of 163.77 points, equivalent to a 0.31% drop, settling at 52,155.43 in post-open trading activity.