Wall Street: mixed results after mixed indicators

(CercleFinance.com) - The New York Stock Exchange traded in mixed order on Tuesday morning following the publication of mixed economic indicators, showing both a slowdown in the labor market and a certain dynamism in the services sector.


At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones fell by 0.2% to 36,116 points, while the Nasdaq Composite managed to gain 0.6% to 14,274 points.116 points, while the Nasdaq Composite managed to gain 0.6% to 14,274 points.

After five consecutive weeks of gains, the US markets are clearly having some difficulty assimilating the contradictory data published this morning.

The Labor Department's 'Jolts' survey showed that job openings in the US fell at the end of October, suggesting that demand on the labor market is finally starting to run out of steam.

Investors are scrutinizing labor market data for signs of a slowdown that could lead the Fed to lower interest rates.

In this sense, Friday's monthly employment report will be closely watched by market participants, as a slowdown in the labor market would be welcomed.

The focus on the labor market somewhat overshadowed the monthly survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which showed that growth was picking up in the service sector.

The index stood at 52.7 last month, compared with 51.8 in October, when economists were expecting a figure of 52.3.

Sector-wise, the technology (+0.8%), communications (+0.8%) and consumer (+1.1%) sectors - so far Wall Street's big winners in 2023 - continue to offer support to the indices.

In another positive development, the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds fell back to a three-month low of 4.18%, following the release of the Jolts employment survey, which strengthened the case for a rate cut.

The dollar did not suffer from the lull in US bond yields, and continued its recovery against the euro, which fell back below the 1.0810 threshold.

Oil prices made a modest technical rebound, with uncertain demand prospects still holding back the announcement of an OPEC+ production cut.

US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) recovered timidly by 0.4% to $73.3.

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