U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq managing to close in the green, as investors assessed delayed economic data and tried to gauge the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook for the near term. The S&P 500 and the Dow ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.6% or 302.30 points, to end at 48,114.26 points.
The S&P 500 declined 0.2%, or 16.25 points, to finish at 6,800.26 points, recording its third straight day of losses. Energy, healthcare and real estate stocks were the worst performers.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) slid 3.1%, while the Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV) declined 1.3%. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) fell 0.9%. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2%, or 54.05 points, to close at 23,111.46 points.
The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was down 0.12% to 16.48. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.63-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.26-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 16.70 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 16.99 billion.
On the Nasdaq, there were 2,064 new 52-week highs and 2,596 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 127 new 52-week highs and 88 new lows.
Investors Digest Mixed Economic Data
This is the last full trading week of the year, and investors will get to see a deluge of economic data, both current and delayed. On Tuesday, investors digested a batch of key economic data. The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 in November after declining in October.
Although the figures surpassed the consensus estimate of a rise of 45,000 job additions, October saw a decline of 105,000 jobs. Also, data showed that the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November, higher than the economists’ forecast of 4.5%.
This somewhat dented investors’ sentiment, and they are still not very optimistic about another rate cut by the Federal Reserve in October. Markets are pricing in a 24% chance of a quarter percentage point rate cut in January.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales came in flat in October, falling short of analysts’ expectations of a 0.1% rise.
Energy Stocks Suffer
Energy stocks also took a hit on Tuesday, with the U.S. crude oil hitting its lowest level since June 2021. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) declined 2.6%, while Chevron Corporation (CVX) fell 2%. Exxon Mobil has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Investors are also looking forward to the key consumer price index (CPI) report scheduled for release on Thursday.
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Chevron Corporation (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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