Stocks have shown a lack of direction over the course of morning trading on Thursday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line after ending the previous session in negative territory.
Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the Dow is down 30.47 points or 0.1 percent at 32,877.80, the Nasdaq is up 41.87 points or 0.3 percent at 12,977.16 and the S&P 500 is up 10.39 points or 0.3 percent at 4,190.22.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes even though the House voted Wednesday night to approve the bill raising the U.S. debt ceiling.
The House voted 314 to 117 in favor of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, with the legislation attracting support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he hopes lawmakers can work quickly and bring the bill to the president’s desk “as soon as possible.”
With likely passage of the bill easing concerns about a potential default, traders may now be turning their attention to the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The jobs data could have an impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy meeting later this month.
Payroll processor ADP released a report this morning showing private sector employment in the U.S. jumped by much more than expected in the month of May.
The report said private sector employment shot up by 278,000 jobs in May after surging by a revised 291,000 jobs in April.
Economists had expected private sector employment to increase by 170,000 jobs compared to the spike of 296,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a report showing a slight increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 27th.
The report said initial jobless claims crept up to 232,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 230,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 235,000 from the 229,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Sector News
Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, computer hardware stocks have moved sharply higher, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 2.5 percent.
Pure Storage (PSTG) has helped lead the sector higher after the data storage company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings and provided upbeat full-year guidance.
Considerable strength is also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent jump by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The index is bouncing off its lowest closing level in over seven months.
The rebound by oil service stocks comes amid a modest increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for July delivery rising $0.19 to $68.28 a barrel.
Tobacco, gold and steel stocks are also seeing notable strength on the day, while utilities stocks have shown a significant move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has climbed by 0.7 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.8 basis points at 3.599 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Turning In Lackluster Performance As Focus Shifts To Jobs Data
2023-06-01 14:44:32
