DJIA up 54.24 points (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 07 Jun - US shares were trading slightly higher after the latest nonfarm payrolls report came in hotter than expected signalling US interest rates may have to stay higher for longer.

The labor market added 272,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May, far higher than the 182,000 expected by economists. At the same time the unemployment rate inched up to 4.0% from last month's 3.9% while wages, an important driver of inflationary pressure, rose 4.1% on the year, reversing the downward trend seen last month.

Strong labor market readings have stoked concern the Federal Reserve may have to keep interest rate cuts higher for longer as it strives to bring inflation down.

The Federal Reserve next meets on monetary policy next week but is widely expected to wait until September at the earliest to cut rates.

Yesterday the ECB became the first major central bank to cut its rates in the current cycle.

Also on the data front, US wholesale trade inventories rose 0.1% month on month in April, just missing forecasts for a 0.2% increase.

On the stocks front, shares in video game retailer GameStop fell 37.5% after it announced it was selling 75 million new shares. The company also announced ahead of time its first quarter results which showed a narrower loss and falling revenue.

At 1822 GMT, the Dow Jones was gaining 54.24 points, or 0.14%, at 38,940.41 points.

The S&P 500 was 13.49 points, or 0.25%, higher at 5,366.42 points.

The Nasdaq was up 41.51 points, or 0.24%, at 17,214.21 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 07-06-24 19:43:19 (0638) 5 NNNN