Major stock indexes put in a mixed performance Thursday as investors digested fresh economic data and prepared for tomorrow's highly anticipated August jobs report.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to finish lower for the third straight session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%. U.S. stocks have gotten off to a sluggish start this month as concerns about the health of the economy have resurfaced and tech stocks, led by AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA), have been particularly volatile.
Nvidia shares rose 0.9% Thursday, breaking a two-session losing streak. Most other mega-cap tech stocks also gained ground, with Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META) and Amazon (AMZN) all rising, while Microsoft (MSFT) was down slightly. Shares in Broadcom (AVGO) fell 0.8% ahead of the chipmaker's eagerly awaited earnings report after the closing bell.
Investor concerns about the economy increased in recent days as manufacturing data and a report on job openings came in weaker than expected. On Thursday, the monthly ADP employment report showed that private payrolls grew less than economists had expected in August, while weekly jobless clams numbers came in slightly lower than expected. The data provided further confirmation that the U.S. labor market is cooling, though may not be deteriorating as significantly as some fear.
Market participants are anxiously awaiting Friday's release of the government's jobs report for August, after last month's report showed a surprising increase in the unemployment rate and sent markets reeling.
The Federal Reserve has said it is focused on the labor market as it considers cutting its benchmark lending rate for the first time in four years. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has signaled that rate cuts could come as soon as the mid-September meeting of the central bank's policy committee, but has said that incoming data will drive the decisions on the pace and depth of the easing.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is sensitive to expectations around interest rates, was down slightly to 3.73% on Thursday, near its lowest level in a month. Gold futures were up slightly to around $2,540 while bitcoin slumped to its lowest level in a month below $56,000.
Comments