United States benchmark averages traded in a narrow range on Thursday (Friday AEDT) as investors looked ahead to next week’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 32 points or 0.1% to 47,850.9. The S&P 500 edged 7.4 points or 0.1% higher to close at 6,857.1, while the Nasdaq Composite added 51.0 points or 0.2% to end at 23,505.1.
Investors assessed fresh labour market data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which showed announced job cuts in November pushed total layoffs for the year beyond one million.
The report followed Wednesday’s weaker-than-expected ADP data, which showed an unexpected slump in private payrolls.
Signs of a cooling labour market have strengthened expectations that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points at its 10 December meeting, the final policy decision of the year. Markets now assign an 87% probability of a cut, a sharp jump from levels just weeks ago, according to the CME Group FedWatch Tool.
Investors brushed aside Thursday’s weekly jobless claims report, which showed new filings falling to their lowest level since September 2022. Claims for the week ending 29 November fell by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 220,000.
Attention now turns to several key economic releases due Friday, including delayed September data on consumer spending and incomes, along with the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures index.
The University of Michigan will also publish its preliminary consumer sentiment reading for December.
Salesforce was among the standout performers, climbing more than 3% after issuing a stronger-than-expected revenue outlook.
Discount retailer Five Below also advanced after delivering earnings that surpassed analyst forecasts.
On the bond markets, yields on the 10-year and 2-year Treasuries rose 0.9% and 1.1% respectively, to 4.1% and 3.523%.
