After an initial move to the downside, stocks have regained ground over the course of morning trading on Tuesday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows of the session, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq bouncing firmly into positive territory.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Nasdaq is up 56.31 points or 0.4 percent at 14,241.80, the S&P 500 is down 1.82 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 4,567.96 and the Dow is down 124.93 points or 0.4 percent at 36,079.51.
The initial weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets amid concerns optimism about the outlook for interest rates have led to overbought conditions.
While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged in the coming months, traders may need more evidence to solidify hopes of a rate cut in the near future.
The subsequent rebound came as a Labor Department report may have reinforced those hopes, showing a bigger than expected decrease in U.S. job openings in the month of October.
The report said job openings slid to 8.73 million in October from 9.35 million in September, falling to the lowest level since March 2021. Economists had expected job openings to edge down to 9.30 million.
Meanwhile, a separate report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a slightly faster rate in the month of November.
The ISM said its services PMI crept up to 52.7 in November from 51.8 in October, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 52.0.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its closely watched monthly jobs report, which could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Economists currently expect employment to increase by 185,000 jobs in November after rising by 150,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 3.9 percent.
Sector News
Gold stocks are extending the sell-off seen in the previous session, resulting in a 2.4 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
The continued weakness among gold stocks comes amid a modest decrease by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery slipping $3.30 to $2,038.90 an ounce.
Considerable weakness is also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. The index is pulling back off its best closing level in almost four months.
Steel, banking and oil service stocks are also seeing significant weakness on the day, while retail stocks have moved to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a strong move back to the upside after coming under pressure in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 9.4 basis points at 4.194 percent.
Source: Read Full Article