US stock indices close positive as labor market slows

US stock indices turned higher during trading on June 4, in light of the decline in bond yields as markets evaluated economic data that showed a decline in available job opportunities to their lowest levels in more than three years.

At the close of trading, the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.35%, or 140 points, to 38,711 points, after it had previously declined to 38,397 points.

S&P 500 index increased by 0.15%, or 7 points, to 5,291 points, while Nasdaq turned up by almost the same percentage, or 28 points, at 16,857 points.

Looking at European markets, the STOXX Europe 600 index fell by 0.55% to 517 points, under pressure from losses in the energy, mining, banking and auto sectors.

The French CAC 40 index fell by 0.75% to 7,937 points, while the German DAX fell by 1.1% at 18,405 points, and the British FTSE 100 fell by 0.35% at 8,233 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei index fell by 0.2%, or 85 points, to 38,837 points, and the broader Topix index fell by 0.4% to 2,787 points.

In the oil market, futures contracts for standard Brent crude for August delivery fell by more than 1%, or 84 cents, to $77.52 per barrel.

The price of US Nymex crude for July delivery retreated by 1.3%, or 97 cents, at $73.25 per barrel.

Regarding gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for August delivery went down by 0.9%, or $21.9, at $2,347.4 per ounce.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the US Department of Labor said that the number of available job opportunities, which is a measure of the demand for labor, declined by 296,000 to 8.06 million by the end of April, the lowest level since February 2021. Also, March data was revised lower to 8.36 million.