After ending yesterday’s lackluster session narrowly mixed, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. While the S&P 500 closed lower for the third straight session, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day in positive territory.
The Nasdaq bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing up 43.37 points or 0.3 percent at 17,127.66. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 16.66 points or 0.3 percent to 5,503.41 and the Dow slid 219.22 points or 0.5 percent to 40,755.75.
The mixed performance on Wall Street came following the release of mixed readings on employment ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
Before the start of trading, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of August.
ADP said private sector employment rose by 99,000 jobs in August after climbing by a downwardly revised 111,000 jobs in July.
Economists had expected private sector employment to jump by 145,000 jobs compared to the addition of 122,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a separate report showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 31st.
The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 227,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 232,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 230,000 from the 231,000 originally reported for the previous week.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on employment in the month of August, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Economists currently expected employment to climb by 160,000 jobs in August after rising by 114,000 jobs in July.
The unemployment rate is expected to edge down to 4.2 percent in August after rising to 4.3 percent in July, reaching its highest level since October 2021.
Sector News
While most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, pharmaceutical stocks saw considerable weakness, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 1.9 percent.
Healthcare, computer hardware and oil producer stocks also showed notable moves to the downside, while airline stocks saw significant strength.
Reflecting the strength in the airline sector, the NYSE Arca Airline Index jumped by 1.9 percent to its best closing level in a month.
JetBlue (JBLU) helped lead the sector higher, with the airline soaring by 7.2 percent after raising its third quarter revenue guidance.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index crept up by 0.1 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries recovered from an early pullback to end the day higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, decreased by 3.7 basis points to 3.731 percent, its lowest closing level in over a year.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Friday is likely to be driven by reaction to the monthly jobs report and its impact on the outlook for interest rates and the economy.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Turn In Mixed Performance Ahead Of Monthly Jobs Data
2024-09-05 20:15:37
