Stock market today: Wall Street is mixed as bets rise for rate cuts following job-openings data
U.S. stocks are mixed after a report suggested the job market is cooling, which could make the cuts to interest rates that Wall Street desires so much more likely
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are mixed on Tuesday after a report suggested the job market is cooling, which could make the cuts to interest rates that Wall Street desires so much more likely.
The S&P 500 was down 0.3% in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 49 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.
The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields slid after the report showed U.S. employers were advertising fewer job openings at the end of April than economists expected.
Wall Street actually wants the economy to slow because that could get inflation under control and convince the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which would ease the pressure on financial markets. The question is whether the slowdown overshoots and ends up in a painful recession.
A report on Monday showing U.S. manufacturing contracted in May for the 18th time in 19 months sent Treasury yields sliding at the start of the week on expectations that it could tilt conditions toward cutting rates. But the weak data also raised worries about profits for companies that most depend on a strong economy.
The price of crude oil in particular has slid on worries that a slower economy would mean less growth in demand for fuel. A barrel of U.S. crude dropped 1.6% Tuesday to bring its loss for the week to more than 5%. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.7%.
That sent oil-and-gas stocks to some of the market's worst losses for a second straight day. Exxon Mobil dropped 2.5%, and Diamondback Energy fell 2.3%.
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