While you were sleeping.. US stocks edged up on Wednesday with the S&P 500 ending at a new record as investors brushed off weaker-than-expected labour market data and focused on acceleration in services-sector growth. Trading volume continued to be light however as investors took a tentative approach ahead of the European Central Bank policy meeting on Thursday and the US governments May non-farm payrolls report on Friday. The Institute for Supply Managements non-manufacturing index showed that growth in the US services sector accelerated more than expected in May and rose at the fastest pace in nine months. The index rose to 56.3 in May from 55.2 in April, topping expectations for a read of 55.5. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Earlier, the ADP National Employment Report showed about 179,000 private-sector jobs were added in May, below the 210,000 that had been expected. Aprils job gains were revised downward by 5,000. Elsewhere, the US trade deficit came in at $US47.2bn, up from $US44.2bn, on the back of a 1.2 per cent lift in imports, while exports fell 0.2 per cent. The Aussie dollar was up slightly to $US92.78 this morning. This comes after news yesterday that the economy accelerated in the first quarter faster than market economists and the Reserve Bank of Australia forecast, surging by the most in eight quarters on a rise in export earnings. Gross domestic product jumped 1.1 per cent in the March quarter from the previous three months and 3.5 per cent from a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 23:48:21 +0000
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