US stocks drifted on Wednesday as fresh signs of weakness in the job market stoked caution among investors. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% in early trading, though it remained near last week’s record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 51 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.4%, AP reported.Treasury yields fell sharply after a report from ADP Research indicated that US private employers cut 32,000 more jobs than they added in September, with the Midwest seeing the largest losses. The survey also revised August employment down to a 3,000-job loss from a previously reported gain of 54,000.Analysts cautioned that the ADP survey uses a smaller sample than the government’s monthly jobs report and has an imperfect record of forecasting the broader Labour Department data. With the US government shutdown in effect, Friday’s official employment report may be delayed, increasing uncertainty in markets.“Whether this is an accurate statistic or not, people in the markets believe that it signals something,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “The signal from today’s headline will not be a good one.”Wall Street has been hoping for a controlled slowdown in the job market—enough to encourage the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates without triggering a recession. Any delay in official data makes achieving this balance more uncertain.Individual stocks showed mixed performance. Cal-Maine Foods fell 2.6% after reporting quarterly profits and revenues below analyst expectations, despite its strongest-ever first quarter. Nike rose 4.7% after surpassing profit estimates, supported by robust North American apparel sales. Lithium Americas surged 22.5% after the US Department of Energy agreed to allow the company access to a previously announced $2.26 billion loan in exchange for an ownership stake.International markets were mixed, with European indexes rising after a varied session in Asia.In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 4.09% from 4.16% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely reflects Fed rate expectations, fell to 3.53% from 3.60%.
About the Author
