NEW YORK - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq again finished at fresh records on July 3, extending a positive run following mixed economic data in a quiet holiday-shortened session.

US private-sector hiring came in a bit below expectations for June, while a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed a surprise contraction in services industry activity.

Markets are looking ahead to the July 5 jobs report, said Mr Art Hogan, of B. Riley Wealth Management, adding that the labour market seems to be “normalising but not collapsing.”

Mr Hogan described trading volumes as extremely low ahead of the July 4 holiday.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent to 5,537.02, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.9 per cent to 18,188.30.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average meanwhile lost 0.1 per cent at 39,308.00.

Among individual companies, Southwest Airlines advanced 1.6 per cent after announcing a shareholder rights plan designed to prevent Elliott Investment Management from gaining a controlling stake in the carrier.

Paramount Global jumped 6.9 per cent following reports that it reached a deal to be bought by movie studio Skydance after earlier breaking off the talks.

Constellation Brands dropped 3.8 per cent after reporting a 22 per cent jump in quarterly profits to US$877 million (S$1.2 billion) behind strong beer sales. However, net sales in wine and spirits fell. AFP