US nonfarm payrolls rose 57,000 in June, about half of economists' expectations,
and May payrolls were revised down to 129,000 from 172,000, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics said. The softer report led markets on Thursday to dial back expected
Fed tightening; Principal Asset Management chief global strategist Seema Shah
said the slowdown challenges recent labor-market recovery assumptions and
reinforces that pressure on the Fed to tighten is limited. Short-term
interest-rate futures now price the probability of a July rate hike below 20%,
though odds of a move by September are viewed as higher.
