DOW JONES CROSS 17000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average bolted above 17,000 points for the first time in intraday trade today after data showed the US had surprisingly strong jobs growth in June. About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow stood at 17,050.80, up 74.56 points (0.44 per cent), while the S&P 500 gained 7.01 (0.36 per cent) to 1,981.63. Both the Dow and S&P 500 closed at records for the second day in a row yesterday. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 16.37 (0.37 per cent) at 4,474.10. The Labour Department reported the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 per cent in June as the economy added 288,000 jobs; jobs growth figures were revised upward for the two previous months. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the jobs report had "encouraging" elements, even as there were still some points of concern, such as the large number of people working part-time for economic reasons. O'Hare said some equity investors are anxious the strong headline numbers in the labour report "could stir the Fed to raise the fed funds rate a bit sooner than expected." The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond jumped to 2.68 per cent today from 2.63 per cent yesterday, suggesting bond investors share that view. The 30-year yield climbed to 3.50 per cent from 3.47 per cent. Bond yields and prices move inversely. In other economic news today, the European Central Bank, as expected, held its benchmark interest rates unchanged. The Commerce Department reported that the US trade deficit fell to USD 44.4 billion in May, a bigger decline than analysts expected. Banking stocks were winners in early trade with Bank of America (+1.8 per cent), Citigroup (+1.2 per cent) and Dow component JPMorgan Chase (+0.7 per cent) all gaining. Yoga attire maker Lululemon advanced 4.0 per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported that founder Dennis "Chip" Wilson was reaching out to private-equity firms with an eye toward taking the company private. Retailer PetSmart jumped 12.5 per cent as activist investor Jana Partners disclosed a 9.9 per cent stake in the company. Jana said it was exploring "strategic alternatives," including a possible sale of the company, according to a securities filing.