US close: Stocks mixed as investors digest JOLTS report

Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance on Tuesday after major indices' recent rally came to a halt in the previous session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.22% at 36,124.56, while the S&P 500 was 0.06% weaker at 4,567.18 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.31% firmer at 14,229.91.

The Dow closed 79.88 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session and marking a departure from the blue-chip's recent winning streak.

Tuesday's primary focus was the Bureau of Labor Statistics' JOLTS jobs survey, which revealed the number of job openings decreased by 617,000 month-on-month to 8.733m in October, marking the lowest level since March 2021 and falling short of expectations for a reading of 9.3m. During the month, job openings decreased in health care and social assistance, finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing. On the other hand, job openings increased in information. Regarding regional distribution, job openings fell in the South, the Midwest, the West, and the Northeast.

The report will be welcomed by traders hoping for evidence that the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases have had the intended impact on the economy. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down more than seven basis points at 4.188% shortly after the JOLTS survey was released.

"The ratio of job openings to the number of unemployed fell to 1.34, its lowest since August 2021, suggesting that the labor market is coming into a better balance between the supply and demand of labor," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead US economist at Oxford Economics. "Evidence of cooler labor market conditions will keep further rate hikes off the table, but we don't expect rate cuts until Q3 of next year. The Fed needs to be convinced that inflation is on a path back to 2% and we expect the progress toward that goal to occur gradually over the next several months."

Elsewhere on the macro front, the Institute for Supply Management's services PMI increased to 52.7 in November, up from 51.8 in October, beating forecasts for a print of 52. The reading pointed to stronger growth in the services sector, amid faster increases in business activity/production and employment. At the same time, new orders remained strong and inventories rebounded, while price pressures slowed slightly.

Finally, S&P Global's composite PMI was confirmed at 50.7 in November, unchanged from October's three-month high, while the services PMI came in at 50.8 in November, up from 50.6 in October and the highest reading in four months.

Turning abroad, Moody's lowered its outlook on China to 'negative' from 'stable' as debt levels across the nation continued to rise, with Beijing now moving to support the Chinese economy via fiscal stimulus measures. This news comes as the Caixin China services purchasing managers' index climbed to its highest in three months during November, diverging from the nation's official PMI reading and coming in at 51.5 last month, rising from 50.4 in October and 50.2 in September.

On another note, news that the Reserve Bank of Australia had held its benchmark policy rate at 4.35% in its December meeting was also drawing an amount of attention, noting that while there had been encouraging signs on goods inflation, services price inflation has remained persistent. The Australian central bank's decision comes as many traders continue to speculate what moves the Federal Reserve may take at its upcoming policy meeting next week.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.42 2.11%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $106.23 1.11%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $38.42 1.00%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $155.73 0.93%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $372.52 0.92%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $550.26 0.36%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $183.66 0.26%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $115.41 0.23%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $161.39 0.18%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $255.19 0.17%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $146.76 -3.49%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $341.75 -2.19%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.14 -1.84%
3M Co. (MMM) $101.69 -1.69%
American Express Co. (AXP) $170.68 -1.48%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $142.86 -1.39%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $90.79 -1.33%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $20.51 -1.32%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $41.92 -1.02%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $270.87 -0.61%

S&P 500 - Risers

Discover Financial Services (DFS) $99.08 4.58%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $35.57 4.37%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $71.02 3.71%
AT&T Inc. (T) $17.22 3.36%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $116.12 3.28%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $465.66 2.32%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.42 2.11%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $500.35 1.70%
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) $29.06 1.43%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $146.88 1.41%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $364.40 -8.70%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $23.45 -8.29%
Macy's Inc. (M) $16.46 -5.84%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $113.26 -5.60%
Sealed Air Corp. (SEE) $31.70 -5.37%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $15.46 -5.33%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $132.17 -4.88%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $28.49 -4.62%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $35.25 -4.47%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $53.16 -4.44%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $465.66 2.32%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.42 2.11%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $146.88 1.41%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $132.39 1.35%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $238.72 1.33%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $130.99 1.33%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $605.35 1.05%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $354.15 1.00%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $372.52 0.92%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $79.02 0.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.84 -12.51%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $364.40 -8.70%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $41.61 -3.41%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $202.71 -3.29%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $57.92 -3.22%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $16.11 -2.42%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $16.98 -2.41%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $111.76 -2.26%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $32.94 -2.26%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $47.97 -2.16%