US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors digested fresh jobs data and new Fedspeak regarding the path forward for interest rates.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) each claimed new records after finishing the session up about 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) recovered from session lows but still closed down nearly 0.2%.
Job openings in October rose by 372,000 to 7.74 million compared to estimates of 7.52 million, according to BLS data released on Tuesday.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed fewer hires were made during the month while the quits rate, a sign of confidence among workers, rose to 2.1% from 1.9% in September.
The JOLTS data serves as the first in a wave of key signals this week that culminates in Friday’s all-important monthly US payrolls report.
Also on Tuesday, policymakers Mary Daly, Austan Goolsbee, and Adriana Kugler suggested rates will continue to fall as the central bank brings policy closer “to a more neutral setting.” Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Wednesday.
Treasury yields rose following the comments with the yield on the 10-year note (^TNX) inching up about 3 basis points to trade near 4.22%.
Traders are now pricing in about a 72% chance that the Fed lowers rates by a quarter percentage point at its Dec. 18 meeting, compared with 62% a day ago, per the CME FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, shares in US Steel (X) fell about 8% on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to “block” its $15 billion takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel (5401.T, NPSCY). Trump said tax incentives and tariffs will enable the American steel giant to thrive on its own.
