NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were mixed on Tuesday as investors assessed a fresh batch of economic data, including a jobs report, to gauge the probability of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve early next year, while megacap stocks rebounded from the previous day’s losses. US job openings dropped in October to the lowest level since early 2021, indicating that the labor market was easing, while US services sector activity picked up in November.
“The data is better than expected, meaning that the job market is weaker, but it’s not so weak that it requires maybe a Fed rate cut or a jeopardy of a recession,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest.
“And it’s certainly not strong enough to say the Fed is going to need to raise rates.” After a strong run of gains in November that sent the S&P 500 to its closing high for the year, US equities pulled back in the previous session as Treasury yields rose.
Eight of 11 major S&P 500 sectors traded in the red, with materials leading declines. The small-cap Russell 2000 index fell 1.1% after a four-day winning streak. At 11:24 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 140.27 points, or 0.39%, at 36,064.17, the S&P 500 was down 6.16 points, or 0.13%, at 4,563.62, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 34.89 points, or 0.25%, at 14,220.39.
Among individual stocks, Take-Two Interactive Software fell 1.9% after a trailer of the latest instalment of its best-selling “Grand Theft Auto” videogame franchise was released.
CVS Health rose 3.4% on forecasting 2024 revenue above Wall Street estimates, as the insurer expects to benefit from its expansion into health services.
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