U.S. equity markets are moving without any real trend on Friday, despite the announcement of a new slowdown in the job market, which reinforces hopes that the Fed will soon cut rates.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones fell by 0.1% to 39,264.7 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced by 0.5% to 18,288.3 points, after reaching a new all-time high of 18,299.2 points at the very start of the session.299.2 points.

The latest US employment figures showed a slight slowdown in the pace of job creation, accompanied by a rise in the unemployment rate, a further sign of the labor market's deceleration.

The US economy created 206,000 non-farm jobs in June, a number more or less in line with market expectations, which were targeting around 200,000 positions.

At the same time, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 points to 4.1%, compared with economists' expectations of 4%.

Index futures moved higher following this publication, which confirms the prospect of the Federal Reserve adopting a more accommodating monetary policy.

This jobs report could give the Federal Reserve the confidence it needs to cut interest rates in September, as despite inflation remaining above target, the labor market is showing clearer signs of slowing", says Florian Ielpo, Head of Macroeconomic Research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

This is the kind of jobs report the Federal Reserve has been waiting for: softer, but still decent, data that could justify two rate cuts this year", adds the analyst.

CPR AM refers to a "mediocre and disappointing" employment report, pointing out that the unemployment rate is now above the Fed's forecast for the end of 2024

"This report begins to approach the 'unexpected weakening of the labor market' that Jerome Powell had mentioned as a possible reason for accelerating the rate cut schedule", adds Bastien Drut, head of strategy and economic research.

While many observers believe that these figures are a step in the right direction, others feel that they cast doubt on the imminence of monetary easing.

'The rather stable NFP figures continue to illustrate the resilience of the job market', moderates Mahmoud Alkudsi, analyst at ADSS.

'The strength of job creation could signal inflationary pressures, which could deter the Fed from cutting rates', he adds.

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries hit new three-month lows of around 4.29%, before rising again during the morning towards 4.30%.

According to the FedWatch barometer, traders now have a 73.6% probability of a Fed rate cut on September 18, compared with 68.4% prior to the release of the jobs report.

Uncertainty about the future of interest rates is penalizing banking stocks, with the S&P financial sector down by more than 0.5%.

Oil, for its part, is heading for a fourth consecutive week of gains, with US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) gaining 0.3% to $84.2, although this has not prevented the energy sector (-1.3%) from posting the biggest sectoral decline of the day.

For the week as a whole, the Dow Jones is currently posting a weekly gain of around 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite is up around 2.4% for this Independence Day-shortened week.

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