In a potential preview of how Friday will pan out, the US markets shook off a record-breaking ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) nonfarm employment change reading.
Though the figure was marginally better than forecast, such a fact means little when that still means 20.236 million jobs were lost across April. A truly staggering number – it’s the worst in the figure’s history – yet one that failed to garner much reaction investors.
That’s perhaps because it was long-trailed by week-after-week of shocking jobless claims. But, then again, those unemployment claims readings also failed to really shake the markets, at least not in the way their scale should demand.
It seems investors just aren’t that fussed about the job loss, as long as it seems that Donald Trump is hellbent on opening up the economy, even if it means more American deaths.
The Dow Jones rose around 70 points despite the data, keeping it around 23950. Its gains likely would have been larger if it weren’t such a strong day for the dollar, which added 0.8% against the pound and 0.5% against the euro.
This as the UK and Eurozone dealt with their own troubles, namely a worst ever monthly slump in German factory orders, and a far sharper than forecast decline in the UK construction PMI, which fell from 39.3 to 8.2.
While both sterling and its single currency cousin were in the red, the reaction for the European indices carried. The DAX and CAC shed half a percent apiece, effectively the same amount the FTSE actually rose by as the session went on.
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