Good morning. US employers added 57,000 jobs in June, well short of the 115,000 economists expected, in a report brought forward a day ahead of the Independence Day holiday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, though that reflected a drop in the participation rate to 61.5%, its lowest since March 2021, rather than stronger hiring. The US dollar fell after the release, with the DXY down 0.5% to 100.91, gold rose 1.6% to US$4,135 an ounce and the Australian dollar gained 0.4% to US69.20 cents. Equities were mixed: the S&P 500 finished little changed at 7,483 and the Nasdaq fell 0.8% to 25,833 as semiconductors sold off, while the Dow closed at a record.
The chip selloff did the damage in technology. Micron fell more than 10%, having risen about 260% this year, and Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each dropped more than 9% in Asian trade, unwinding part of a first-half run in which the semiconductor sector gained more than 80%. Away from equities, investors sought to redeem about US$4.7bn from Blue Owl's two flagship private credit funds in the second quarter, down from US$5.4bn in the first, and both funds stayed capped at 5% a quarter. In deals, Lockheed Martin emerged as frontrunner to buy naval-technology group Ultra Maritime for about US$3.5bn, and Microsoft signed its first Australian content-licensing agreement, with Nine Entertainment.
Locally, the ASX 200 closed the prior session at 8,723, down 0.6% and 1.0% lower over five sessions. The Reserve Bank's cash rate stays at 4.35% and the 10-year government bond yield is 4.77%, with National Australia Bank now expecting the next move to be a cut ahead of the RBA's 11 August meeting. Iron ore fell 1.8% to US$98.36 a tonne, weighing on BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue, while the higher gold price supported producers Northern Star and Evolution Mining.
The next RBA board meeting is on 11 August; National Australia Bank now says the next move in the cash rate is more likely to be down, having previously expected steady policy.
The Australian dollar is up 5.1% over the past year; the euro rose 0.4% to US$1.1429 and the yen firmed 0.7% to 161.41 per US dollar.
The index is up 2.1% over the past year, against gains of 20.2% for the S&P 500 and 76.2% for the Nikkei 225 over the same period.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% as the participation rate dropped 0.3 point to 61.5%; leisure and hospitality shed 61,000 jobs and average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in the month.
The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in June and dropped its prior bias toward a cut; the report eased the case for a near-term hike.
Requests reached 18.8% of shares at the US$34bn Blue Owl Credit Income Corp and 38.1% at the US$4.9bn technology fund; both stayed capped at 5% a quarter, and Blue Owl shares rose about 5%.
The group is midway through a fleet-renewal program covering more than 200 aircraft and has trimmed domestic capacity to lift revenue per seat.
Iron ore is down 2.1% over five sessions but 5.3% higher over the past year; BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are the largest resource names on the ASX.
Brent is down 4.9% over five sessions, and WTI eased 0.2% to US$68.47.
The metal is up 23.5% over the past year and 2.6% over five sessions, gaining after the weak US jobs report pushed the US dollar down 0.5%.
Micron is still up about 260% this year, and the chip sector gained more than 80% in the first half of 2026; Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell more than 9% in Asian trade.
Ultra Maritime was assembled by Advent through the 2019 take-private of Cobham and the 2021 purchase of Ultra Electronics; Lockheed shares eased about 1.4% in after-hours trade.
Nine's titles include The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age; Microsoft said the deal is intended to ground Copilot answers in verified reporting and cite sources.
The site was part of a planned 2,100-acre campus; QTS said Virginia remains central to its business, citing about US$5bn of investment in the state's central region.
JPMorgan had described the mounting costs as an astronomical amount of expenses.
“The June payroll release came in cooler than anticipated, which should take some of the pressure off the Fed to hike rates in the coming months.”
“The slowdown in payroll growth challenges the narrative of renewed labour market strength that has been building in recent months.”
“For now, the labour market is holding, giving the Fed opportunity to stay focused on price stability.”
“Investors had been kind of hovering with their finger over this sell button.”
“We are riding the wave of AI demand. As AI becomes a pillar of society, the strength of the flash memory market is expected to continue.”
“The current wave of redemption requests is the first real liquidity test for the asset class, at scale.”
For wholesale clients only. Prepared by Arc Point OCIO Pty Ltd (ACN 693 569 765), Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR 1319046) of Capella Advisory (AFSL 550125), for wholesale clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth); it is not intended for, and should not be relied on by, retail clients. This note is factual market reporting and general information, with any arcpoint view clearly labelled as such. It is not personal advice and does not take into account any person's objectives, financial situation or needs. Information is drawn from sources believed to be reliable but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Sources: Yahoo Finance, FRED, RBA, company filings.