Stock market today: Wall Street drifts following the latest signals of a solid economy
NEW YORK– Wall Street is in for mixed trading Thursday following the latest data showing a solid U.S. economy while crude oil prices continue to rise.
The S&The P500 was down 0.1% in subsequent morning trading a shaky run what to worry about increasing tensions in the Middle East knocked the index off his record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 139 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.
Oil prices rose again as the the world continues to wait to see how Israel will do that respond to the Iranian missile attack from Tuesday. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.7% to $75 after starting the week below $72.
Iran is a major oil producer, and concerns are that a spreading war could hit neighboring countries that are also integral to the crude flow. Helping to keep oil prices in check, however, are signals that supplies are currently plentiful.
In the bond market, government bond yields rose as a result of a number of reports about the US economy. One showed growth in the real estate, health care and other U.S. services sectors accelerated to the strongest levels since February 2023 and exceeded economists’ expectations, although employment trends may be slowing.
A separate report, meanwhile, suggested the number of layoffs in the United States remains relatively low. Slightly more workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, but the number remains low compared to history.
The dominant question hanging over Wall Street is whether the labor market will hold up after the Federal Reserve previously kept interest rates at 20-year highs. The Fed wanted to apply pressure put the brakes on the economy hard enough to stamp out high inflation.
Stock prices are nearing record highs on hopes that the US economy will indeed do just that keep growingnow that so is the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates to give more juice. The Fed cut its key interest rate last month for the first time in more than four years and indicated that more cuts will take place next year.
The labor market could use help as hiring in the US declines. The US government will release its latest monthly labor market update on Friday, and economists expect it will show hiring has slowed slightly from August’s pace.
On Wall Street, Levi Strauss fell 7.2% despite reporting better earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The denim company’s sales fell short of expectations and it said it is considering what to do with the Dockers brand, whose sales fell 7% last quarter.
This was offset by gains for Nvidia and other stocks caught up in Wall Street’s frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence technology. Nvidia rose 3.4% and was the strongest force pushing the S-index higher&P500, while Super Micro Computer rose 3%, again one of the biggest gains in the index.
The yield on the 10-year government bond rose to 3.81% from 3.78% late Wednesday. The two-year interest rate, which is more in line with expectations about what the Fed will do with the overnight interest rate, rose from 3.64% to 3.67%.
In foreign stock markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 2% as sharp swings continued amid speculation about when the country’s central bank could next raise interest rates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was also fluctuating, returning 1.5%. Stock markets in China have risen largely on hopes of a surge in stocks recent announcements from Beijing to support the world’s second largest economy. With Shanghai and other markets in China closed for a weeklong holiday, trading has also spilled into Hong Kong.
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AP Business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.