THE S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite finished lower on Thursday (Jun 6) ahead of a key labour market report, retreating from record highs reached in the previous session. The Dow was slightly higher.
Benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose early and reached fresh intraday record highs, but then they retreated as technology stocks dipped. Nvidia fell and was back to being the world’s third most valuable company the day after it jumped ahead of Apple to take second place.
Investors will watch on Friday’s crucial US non-farm payrolls report. The weekly jobless claims report was the latest data to indicate labour market easing, which could allow the Fed begin cutting rates. The European Central Bank delivered its first interest rate cut since 2019.
“It’s a little bit of a pause before non-farm,” said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading in Boston. “It’s not unusual. We had a big day yesterday and today people are getting their positions where they want to be before the payroll number,” he said.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 1.12 points, or 0.02 per cent, to end at 5,352.91 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 17.26 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 17,170.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76.38 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 38,883.71.
Gains in Nvidia and other AI-related players have largely driven Wall Street’s rally this year, with the chipmaker accounting for roughly a third of the S&P 500’s over 12 per cent year-to-date gains.
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Traders see a 68 per cent chance of a September rate reduction, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool, and have priced in about two cuts this year, as per data from LSEG. Forecasters polled by Reuters also expect two cuts.
“We are in an information vacuum between now and tomorrow,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York. “But by and large we have entered a global, coordinated central bank easing policy in the West that excludes Japan, which will be tightening” he added.
Shares of GameStop surged after the online stock influencer known as “Roaring Kitty” posted on YouTube that he would hold a livestream on Friday.
Lululemon Athletica rose after beating expectations for first-quarter profit and revenue on Wednesday.
US-listed shares of NIO dropped after the Chinese electric vehicle maker posted a quarterly net loss.
Five Below slumped after the discount store operator trimmed its annual net sales forecast. REUTERS
