{"id":64147,"date":"2026-07-02T17:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dow-hits-record-high-as-soft-jobs-data-eases-rate-hike-fears-zuckerberg-flags-ai-slowdown\/64147\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T17:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:38:17","slug":"dow-hits-record-high-as-soft-jobs-data-eases-rate-hike-fears-zuckerberg-flags-ai-slowdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dow-hits-record-high-as-soft-jobs-data-eases-rate-hike-fears-zuckerberg-flags-ai-slowdown\/64147\/","title":{"rendered":"Dow Hits Record High as Soft Jobs Data Eases Rate Hike Fears; Zuckerberg Flags AI Slowdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. Nonfarm payrolls rose by only 57,000 in June<\/strong>, missing economist estimates of 110,000 and triggering a surge in the <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average to a record closing high.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>) CEO Mark Zuckerberg<\/strong> warned that AI agent development has not accelerated as expected over the last four months, citing a &quot;less clean&quot; company reorganization.<\/li>\n<li><strong>S&amp;P Global downgraded Getty Images (<a href=\"\/stock\/GETY\">GETY<\/a>) to &#39;CCC+&#39;<\/strong> with a negative outlook following the termination of its $3.7 billion merger with Shutterstock (<a href=\"\/stock\/SSTK\">SSTK<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Trump disclosed over $1.4 billion in crypto earnings<\/strong> for 2025, defending the profits as legal and noting his family&#39;s business predates his presidency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court blocked the White House&#39;s bid to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook<\/strong>, reinforcing the Federal Reserve&#39;s independence despite the President&#39;s public criticism of the board.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <strong>Dow Jones Industrial Average (<a href=\"\/stock\/DIA\">DIA<\/a>)<\/strong> surged to a record high on Thursday as investors reacted to a cooling labor market. The <strong>U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/strong> reported that nonfarm payrolls added just <strong>57,000 jobs in June<\/strong>, significantly below the anticipated <strong>110,000<\/strong>. While the <strong>unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.2%<\/strong>, the weak hiring data led markets to lower expectations for near-term interest rate hikes by the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In the technology sector, <strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> CEO <strong>Mark Zuckerberg<\/strong> delivered a candid assessment of the company&#39;s AI progress during an internal town hall. Zuckerberg noted that the development of <strong>AI agents<\/strong> has progressed slower than anticipated over the last four months. He also acknowledged that recent restructuring and a <strong>10% global workforce reduction<\/strong> have yet to yield the intended operational efficiencies, though the stock remained resilient on news of a potential new cloud business.<\/p>\n<p>Financial stability concerns hit the visual media industry as <strong>S&amp;P Global<\/strong> downgraded <strong>Getty Images (<a href=\"\/stock\/GETY\">GETY<\/a>)<\/strong> to <strong>&#39;CCC+&#39;<\/strong>. The downgrade follows the collapse of the company&#39;s planned <strong>$3.7 billion merger<\/strong> with <strong>Shutterstock (<a href=\"\/stock\/SSTK\">SSTK<\/a>)<\/strong>, which was abandoned due to <strong>U.K. regulatory hurdles<\/strong>. S&amp;P cited liquidity concerns and a <strong>negative outlook<\/strong>, as Getty must now navigate a mandatory redemption of its <strong>10.5% senior secured notes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>President Trump<\/strong> addressed his personal finances following a 927-page disclosure revealing more than <strong>$1.4 billion in crypto-related income<\/strong> for 2025. Trump emphasized that the U.S. must lead in <strong>crypto and AI<\/strong> to compete with <strong>China<\/strong>, while clarifying that his children manage his business interests. The disclosure also revealed &quot;very small&quot; holdings in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/NVDA\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"15\" title=\"stock: NVDA\">Nvidia<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVDA\">NVDA<\/a>)<\/strong>, though separate reports suggest his accounts were active in trading several mega-cap tech stocks throughout the year.<\/p>\n<p>On the diplomatic front, <strong>Secretary of State Marco Rubio<\/strong> held a &quot;positive and constructive&quot; call with <strong>China&#39;s Foreign Minister Wang Yi<\/strong>. The discussion focused on building a relationship of <strong>strategic stability<\/strong> based on fairness and reciprocity. However, Wang issued a stern warning for the U.S. to handle <strong>Taiwan-related affairs<\/strong> with &quot;utmost caution,&quot; even as both nations seek to expand their cooperation list and manage bilateral risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. Nonfarm payrolls rose by only 57,000 in June, missing economist estimates of 110,000 and triggering a surge 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