A weekly report from the Labor Department showed that new jobless claims fell to the lowest level in more than three years, even as a Chicago Fed estimate suggested the unemployment rate remained at nearly 4.4% in November.Fed funds futures indicate a nearly 90% chance that the central bank will cut rates by 25 basis points this month, compared with about 60% last month, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“Today the data is a little better, but there is no catalyst for upside,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital LLC.
“Good numbers won’t prompt the Fed to make further cuts, so these are slightly better than expected, but not so much better that you’ll be nervous if they continue the cuts next week.” Investors were also cautious ahead of Friday’s September personal consumption expenditure report, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge and the first PCE release since the recent US government shutdown, leaving markets and policymakers with little visibility into the economy. At 9:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower. up 21.23 points, or 0.04%, to 47,861.43, the S&P 500 rose 0.27 points, or less than 0.1%, to 6,849.41 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 16.45 points, or 0.07%, to 23,434.05.
The consumer services sector outpaced the S&P’s 10 other subsectors, buoyed by a 3.6% rise in Meta after a report showed the tech giant planned to cut up to 30% from its Metaverse budget.
Traders also watched developments surrounding US President Donald Trump’s selection of the next US Federal Reserve chairman, in a year of heightened concerns about possible political interference in monetary policy.
A report said bond investors have expressed concern to the U.S. Treasury that Kevin Hassett, a leading candidate for the role, could pursue aggressive rate cuts to better align monetary policy with President Donald Trump’s preferences.
Snowflake fell 11% after the cloud data analytics company’s fourth-quarter product revenue forecast came in lower than investors’ high expectations for stronger growth.
Hormel Foods climbed 4.7% after peanut butter maker Skippy forecast full-year profit above expectations, while Dollar General rose 7% after the discount retailer raised its annual profit forecast.
On the NYSE, advancing issues outnumbered declining issues by a ratio of 1.06 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered forward issues by a ratio of 1.21 to 1.
The S&P 500 recorded 15 new highs and one new low over the past 52 weeks, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 26 new highs and 15 new lows.
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