By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 ended down slightly after U.S. stocks bounced off session lows as investors awaited Friday’s monthly jobs report and further possible clues on the outlook for interest rates.
U.S. data on initial claims for state unemployment benefits pointed to still-resilient labor market conditions, a day after a report showing U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in September.
Friday’s monthly payrolls report was expected to be the week’s most important economic news, helping to determine whether the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer.
Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields eased. Earlier this week, they hit their highest since 2007.
Stocks ended well off session lows, and strategists noted that the S&P 500 was holding above its 200-day moving average, currently at around 4,206.
“It looks like we’re trying to hold here, and the reason is probably because yields have come down somewhat and maybe these comments by Mary Daly may have also helped a little bit,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
San Francisco Fed Bank President Mary Daly said at the Economic Club of New York that with U.S. monetary policy “well into” restrictive territory and the recent rise in U.S. Treasury yields, the Fed may not need to raise rates any more.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 5.40 points, or 0.13%, to end at 4,258.35 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 16.18 points, or 0.12%, to 13,219.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.92 points, or 0.06%, to 33,110.63.
Among stocks, Clorox dropped as the cleaning products maker said it expects to post a first-quarter loss.
Also, shares of Dell Technologies were down after the company’s revenue forecast signaled that an AI boost may take longer to materialize.
(Additional reporting by Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and David Gregorio)
