US close: Stocks slide as investors digest jobs data

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McCormick & Co.

$77.05

11:09 27/12/24

-1.00%

-$0.78

Wall Street encountered renewed strain through the close on Tuesday, with stocks experiencing a notable dip while bond yields persistently edged higher.

KRISPY KREME

$9.78

11:09 27/12/24

0.51%

$0.05

Investors were also in a holding pattern ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.29% at 33,002.38 points, while the S&P 500 slid 1.37% to 4,229.45 points, and the technology-centric Nasdaq Composite recorded a decline of 1.87% to 13,059.47 points.

In the currency arena, the dollar was down against sterling and the euro, dropping 0.04% and 0.05% to trade at 82.77p and 95.49 euro cents, respectively.

Conversely, it managed to claw a minor ascent of 0.09% against the yen, changing hands at JPY 149.16.

“As the US 10-year Treasury yield hits 4.75% and that of the 30-year bond advances past the 4.80% mark, both at 2007 highs, global stock indices resume their September rout and trade in multi-months lows,” said IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph.

“Stronger-than-expected US job openings, indicating a robust labour market, reinforce the 'rates higher for longer' fear that market players have and leads to risk-off sentiment with oil, gold and silver also seeing declines.”

Job openings surge, Fed officials contemplate interest rate adjustments

In economic news, fresh data from the US Department of Labor revealed a significant augmentation in job openings, which soared by 7.7% month-on-month in August, landing at 9.610 million, topping the consensus forecast of 8.83 million.

Contrastingly, the 'quits' rate, a metric often used to gauge worker confidence by indicating the percentage of workers leaving their jobs voluntarily, steadfastly maintained its position at 2.3%, aligning with its pre-pandemic level.

“Other aspects of the JOLTS report were more benign,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics.

“The job openings to unemployed ratio ticked lower because of the rise in unemployment in the household survey in August.

“The quits rate, which is a good leading indicator of wage pressures, held steady and suggested that wage growth will continue to moderate.”

Elsewhere, monetary policy discourse shifted toward hawkish tones among Federal Reserve officials.

Overnight, three key figures from the Fed expounded their views, presenting a stance that tends towards the proactive management of inflationary pressures and macroeconomic stabilisation.

Notably, Michele Bowman voiced her perspective at a bankers’ conference in Canada, expressing a readiness to endorse a hike in the federal funds rate in forthcoming meetings should incoming data suggest a deceleration or stagnation in progress towards achieving the 2% inflation target.

McCormick stumbles after earnings report, Krispy Kreme rises

In equities, McCormick & Co shares plummeted 8.46% following the release of its third-quarter earnings.

While the company’s profits aligned with market expectations, the sales figures disheartened investors, falling shy of the anticipated mark.

On the upside, Krispy Kreme increased by 0.64% following an announcement that it was actively exploring strategic options for Insomnia Cookies, including a potential all-cash sale.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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