Broad US equity markets are at all-time highs. Employment figures reported by ADP point to 179,000 jobs being added in May. This Friday, the US Department of Labor will release its jobs report for the month of May. According to some, with the addition of these new jobs, the US has now recovered all jobs lost during the financial crisis.

“US jobs reports are continuing to give healthy figures from ADP and we anticipate the same from the US Department of Labor this Friday. It should not come as a shock that the US equity markets have continued to touch all-time highs in conjunction with this news,” said David Krein, Head of Research, NASDAQ OMX Global Indexes.

INDEX MOVES THIS WEEK

• NASDAQ BIOTECHNOLOGY INDEX (NBI) is up 1.32% since Friday’s close. Year-to-date performance for the index is up 7% after being up above 20% at the end of February.
• PHLX GOLD/SILVER SECTOR (XAU) was up 0.54% as of noon on Wednesday. The price of gold is currently $1,244 per ounce, flat this week.
• PHLX SEMICONDUCTOR (SOX) was up 1.76% as of noon on Wednesday. Year-to-date performance for the index is up 14% with cumulative returns being positive since the middle of February.

INDEX TO WATCH

• Buybacks have been a hot topic, as they offer another means of shareholder returns outside of dividends. Track the international buyback space by monitoring the NASDAQ International BuyBack Achievers Index (DRBXUS). The index conducts its annual evaluation, which becomes effective after the close of trading on the last trading day in July. The index is up 0.69% this week and 4.66% year-to-date.