Wall Street's main indices rose on Thursday after bets on a US interest rate hike retreated following a weaker-than-expected June employment report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 90.0 points, or 0.17%, to close at 52,395.22.
The S&P 500 added 11.9 points, or 0.16%, to 7,495.14, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 7.4 points, or 0.03%, to 26,047.382.
US job creation slowed sharply in June, even as the unemployment rate fell, trimming some of the momentum that had been building in the labour market this year.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that non-farm payrolls added only 57,000 jobs last month, following downward revisions to figures for the previous two months.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell to 4.2%, accompanied by a sharp drop in the labour force participation rate.
In detail, the US economy added 57,000 jobs in June 2026, well below the downwardly revised 129,000 in May and short of market expectations of 110,000.
This marks the weakest job growth in four months, ending three consecutive months of above-forecast gains.
Nevertheless, the figure was broadly in line with the average monthly increase of 36,000 jobs recorded over the preceding 12 months.
Professional and business services recorded the largest employment gain, adding 36,000 jobs, followed by social assistance with 25,000, and healthcare with 22,000.
By contrast, the leisure and hospitality sector shed 61,000 jobs, reflecting weaker-than-usual seasonal hiring.
Other major sectors, including mining and quarrying, oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change in employment levels.
Authorities also revised down job growth estimates for April and May by a combined 74,000 positions.
European stock indices posted a mixed performance amid a wave of caution that swept global markets, after shares in artificial intelligence companies came under pressure as investors awaited a key US jobs report to gauge the outlook for interest rates. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.1% to 638.27 points.
AI-related stocks in Asia and on Wall Street overnight suffered sharp losses as sector momentum slowed following the strong performance recorded at the end of the second quarter, which had pushed company valuations to elevated levels.
Europe's relatively limited exposure to technology stocks, however, helped cushion the negative impact on the Stoxx index.
The Stoxx 600 technology sub-index fell 1.5%, leading sectoral declines, with Soitec tumbling 5.1% and Aixtron sliding 3.6%.
Sodexo bucked the trend, surging 6.5% after the French food services company raised its full-year organic revenue growth forecast, citing better-than-expected performance in the third quarter.
Japan's Nikkei index fell in Thursday's session, weighed down by heavyweight AI-linked stocks following an overnight sell-off in technology shares on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 2.5% to 68,733.15 points, while the broader Topix index closed up 0.09%, supported by buying in lower-priced shares following recent declines.
Shares in chipmakers Advantest and Tokyo Electron fell 9.95% and 7.44% respectively, while memory chip manufacturer Kioxia dropped 13.47%.
"The market is undergoing a natural correction, with investors selling technology stocks to lock in profits and buying cheaper shares," said Koji Toda, a senior fund manager at Resona Asset Management.
The Nikkei had surged 37% in the previous quarter, its largest quarterly gain since 1965.
Of more than 1,500 shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's prime market, 77% advanced, 20% declined, and 1% were unchanged.