US stocks trade mixed as jobless claims edge higher and bond yields tick up
- US were mixed Thursday as investors digested new jobless claims data.
- Weekly jobless claims were higher than expected, compounding investors' heightened recession fears.
US stocks were mixed on Thursday morning, struggling to recover after Wednesday's session snapped two days of strong gains for the major indexes.
Investors were mulling the latest weekly jobless claims beat expectations, which rose to 219,00 compared to the expected 204,000. The data comes ahead of Friday's non-farm payroll report, which will be an important input for Fed watchers as the central bank monitors the labor market for signs that the economy is cooling.
Investors were also watching Treasury yields edge higher after falling this week on renewed projections that the Fed could soon pivot from its path of rate hike. The 10 year Treasury bond was up about four basis points on Thursday. The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will take place on November 1-2.
Meanwhile, oil prices were little changed after OPEC+ said it would slash production by 2 million barrels a day on Wednesday. Russia also threatened to cut its output if a US-led plan to cap the price of Russian oil goes forward.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Wednesday:
- S&P 500: 3,775.06, down 0.22%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 30,167.48, down 0.35% (105.08 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 11,166.39, up 0.21%
Here's what else is happening this morning:
- Reports say the US is planning to relax its sanctions on Venezuela in hopes of easing supply pressures from OPEC's recent cut.
- The US dollar hasn't peaked yet, UBS strategists said, predicting that the greenback would keep climbing as the Fed continues to hike rates.
- Goldman Sachs predicted oil to hit $110 a barrel by the end of the year as tight supply will continue to drive prices upwards.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- Oil prices climbed, West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.05% to$87.81 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 0.06% to $93.43.
- Gold ticked up 0.17% to $1,723.70 per ounce
- . The 10-year Treasury yield was up about four basis points to 3.79%
- Bitcoin gained 1.8% to trade at $20,248.