S&P 500 Closes at Record High; 85.1% of Reporting Companies Beat Expectations Reuters reported that U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, defying economists’ expectations for an increase of 80,000.
Payroll gains for the previous two months were also revised sharply lower
Following the report, the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September fell to about 44%, from 55% in the previous session. The S&P 500 rose 0.62% on August 7 to a record closing high. Corporate earnings also supported the market: of the 436 S&P 500 companies that had reported results by Friday morning, 85.1% exceeded analysts’ expectations, compared with the historical average of 68% since 1994. — link