NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were mostly flat on Thursday after recording all-time closing highs in the previous session, with focus on the monthly employment report due on Friday as markets mostly brushed off weekly jobless claims data.
The crucial nonfarm payrolls report, scheduled for release before markets open, could be key in gauging the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.
Eric Clark, portfolio manager at the Rational Dynamic Brands Fund, said the market could get a rate cut in December but the Fed might be more cautious going forward.
“They have already hinted about being very slow and methodical about cutting interest rates … at some point the market will probably make that realization and put things that were tied to rate cuts on sale.”
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appeared to signal support for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts ahead when he spoke on Wednesday, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said there was “no sense of urgency” on reducing borrowing costs further.
Comments from Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin are due later in the day.
On the day, data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, suggesting that the labor market continued to cool.
At 11:32 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.25 points, or 0.23%, to 44,908.79, the S&P 500 lost 1.80 points, or 0.03%, to 6,084.84 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17.50 points, or 0.09%, to 19,752.62.
Most megacap and growth stocks were mixed. Tesla, however, outperformed with a 3.5% gain after at least two brokerages lifted their price target on the electric vehicle maker’s stock.
The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow clocked record closing highs on Wednesday, having rallied greatly this year as investors bought into heavyweight technology stocks in a bid to cash in on the artificial intelligence hype.
Another tailwind for stocks recently has been former US President Donald Trump’s win in the Nov. 5 elections. Analysts expect his policies on tax cuts and looser regulation could support corporate performance.
Southwest Airlines gained 3.9% as the carrier raised its forecast for fourth-quarter revenue per available seat miles, while American Airlines added 15% after lifting its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings forecast.
Synopsys fell 10.7% after the chip design software firm forecast fiscal 2025 revenue below Wall Street expectations, in part due to a slump in China sales.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks lost steam after surging earlier in the day when bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, stormed above the $100,000 mark for the first time.
MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, was down 2%, while exchange operator Coinbase was flat.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.4-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 109 new highs and 82 new lows.
Source: Brecorder
