WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course
of the trading day on Thursday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth
across the unchanged line following the strong upward move seen in the previous
session.

Currently, the major averages are little changed. The Dow is up 53.05 points or
0.1 percent at 38,860.38, the Nasdaq is up 1.39 points or less than a tenth of a
percent at 17,189.29 and the S&P 500 is up 1.32 points or less than a tenth of a
percent at 5,355.35.

The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem to be taking a step back
to assess the outlook for the markets following yesterday's surge, which lifted
the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.

Traders may also be sticking to the sidelines ahead of Friday's closely watched
monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for
interest rates.

The Labor Department report is expected to show employment increased by 185,000
jobs in May after climbing by 175,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate
is expected to remain at 3.9 percent.

'Ironically, a slowing in the job market, and even an increase in unemployment,
should be welcome to the extent that it alleviates some upwards pressure on
inflation,' said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Independent
Advisor Alliance.

He added, 'But we are aware that too much weakness in the labor market and in
the economy could eventually prove to be an even greater threat to markets than
inflation that is 1-2% above the Fed's target.'

A day ahead of the release of the monthly jobs report, the Labor Department
released a report this morning showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment
benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended June 1st.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 229,000, an increase
of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 221,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 219,000
originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade
deficit widened significantly in the month of April, as the value of imports
jumped by much more than the value of exports.

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit surged to $74.6 billion in April
from a downwardly revised $68.6 billion in March.

Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $76.1 billion from the $69.4
billion originally reported for the previous month.

While narrower than expected, the trade deficit in April marked the largest
since the gap reached $75.3 billion in October 2022.

Sector News

Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major
sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.

Gold stocks are seeing notable strength, however, resulting in a 1.2 percent
advance by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The strength among gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the
precious metal, with gold for August delivery rising $7.70 to $2,383.20 an
ounce.

Retail and networking stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while
telecom and semiconductor stocks have moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6
percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside after the European
Central Bank lowered interest rates. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6
percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.4
percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness after moving sharply
higher over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark
ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.4 basis points at
4.303 percent.



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