US stocks post higher weekly result amid data, trade fears

NEW YORK - US stocks ended higher for the holiday-shortened week, as investor sentiment was lifted by a batch of encouraging economic data amid the escalation of global trade tensions.

All three major indices reported positive results, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.76 percent, 1.52 percent and 2.37 percent, respectively.

Market experienced a turbulent session on Friday with a relatively downbeat opening when two among the three major indices traded lower, as Wall Street was concerned over the latest US-China tariff moves.

The US tariffs on 34 billion US dollars worth of Chinese imports took effect early Friday. China activated countermeasure tariffs on selected US imports at 12:01 p.m. Beijing Time Friday.

At the market closing, all the three major indices gained, since trading mood was boosted by the strong-than-expected US jobs data.

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 213,000 in June, beating market consensus, the US Labor Department said on Friday.

Job growth occurred in professional and business services, manufacturing and health care, while retail trade lost jobs, it said.

The report also showed US wage climbed 2.7 percent on a year-over-year basis in June.

Trade-war fears lingered over the past week, keeping market gains in check. However, a slew of solid data injected optimism.

The US private sector employment increased by 177,000 jobs from May to June, data provider ADP and Moody's Analytics said on Thursday.

In the week ending June 30, the initial jobless claims was 231,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, the US Labor Department reported.

On other economic news, new orders for manufactured goods in May increased 1.8 billion US dollars or 0.4 percent to 498.2 billion dollars amid strong demand for machinery, the US Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

The US manufacturing expanded in June as the PMI registered 60.2 percent, an increase of 1.5 percent points from the May reading of 58.7 percent, the Institute for Supply Management said on Monday.

The figure indicated strong growth in manufacturing for the 22nd consecutive month, led by continued expansion in new orders, production and employment.

Construction spending was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,309.5 billion US dollars in May, 0.4 percent above the revised April estimate of 1,304.5 billion dollars, reported the US Commerce Department.