4:10pm: Stocks move higher
The three major US stock indexes finished the day in positive territory, making a recovery later in the session as rate cut expectations were boosted by evidence the labor market is cooling.
The Dow Jones led the gains at the close, adding 0.4% or 140 points at 38,711 points.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both added 0.2% at 16,857 points and 5,291 points, respectively.
GameStop pulled back more than 5% after Monday’s rally on reports the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into options trades tied to the videogame retailer.
12:30pm: Risk-off sentiment pervades Wall Street
Major indices were down across the board at the midpoint of trading on Tuesday as investors digested new jobs and manufacturing data.
US job openings slid to its lowest level in more than three years, which highlighted a more risk-off sentiment on Wall Street and putting additional pressure on equities.
Around noon, the S&P 500 was about 0.3% lower, with the Nasdaq trading around 0.2% below opening levels. The Dow, however, was near the flatline.
Signs that the labour market is softening could help the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation and lead to a September rate cut, according to IG’s Axel Rudolph.
“The probability of such a rate cut has risen from 60% to 65% over the course of the day with US yields on track for their fourth straight day of losses, taking these back towards their May lows as the greenback regains some of Monday's losses,” Rudolph commented.
Elsewhere, oil prices were on track to post a fifth consecutive day of losses, while the gold price had tumbled nearly 1%.
10.13am: Job opening dip again
US job openings sank to below a three-year low, providing more weight to the idea that the economy is cooling.
Job postings fell to 8.1 million in April, the lowest since February 2021, from 8.4 million in March, Labor Department data showed.
New openings are higher than before the pandemic, but down from the Covid peaks in 2022.
Numbers of people quitting jobs rose to 3.5 million from a three-year low of 3.4 million.
10am: Early losses trimmed
US stock markets started in a sea of red, but the Dow Jones has just climbed above the waterline and the S&P 500 is just below it.
The Dow is up 50 points or 0.13%, while the S&P 500 is down less than four points or 0.1%.
With Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Amazon in the red, the Nasdaq Composite is down 0.17%.
8am: Lower start for Nasdaq expected
Wall Street stocks are facing a wide slide when trading begins later, with tech mega-cap stocks in the red in premarket trading.
Dow Jones futures are down 0.41%, those for the S&P 500 are off 0.44% and for the Nasdaq they are 0.36% lower.
GameStop is little changed premarket after yesterday's meme drama, with later news that retail broker E*Trade is weighing whether to kick off Roaring Kitty’s Keith Gill from its platform.
This could dampen demand for meme stocks, say analysts, with brokers worried about stock manipulation.
The latest macroeconomic data has pointed to the US economy slowing more than expected.
This has led to markets pricing in almost a 62% chance of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in September, up from 53% before the ISM manufacturing data yesterday, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.
Weaker economic data and a story of a slowing economy in need of a rate cut, often leads to stocks rallying on the cut idea, but not this time, says Kenny Polcari, chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth.
"Lower rates, good for stocks? Not this time…why, because this is when ‘bad news IS bad news’ versus those times when ‘bad news IS good news’ for stocks – which has been the story for such a long time," he says, noting that bonds once again rallied on this news.
Today's US economic data includes JOLTS job openings, Redbook retail numbers, factory orders and the API crude oil inventories.
"The focus is now squarely the labor market, Friday’s NFP report," says Polcari.
The June FOMC meeting begins next Tuesday, which means as of today we are in the 'black out' period where policymakers are prohibited from talking to the media.
"But that does not mean that the Non-Members have to keep quiet….so look for anything from Neely Kashkari – since he seems to be the mouthpiece for when the others can’t speak," says Polcari. "You can also watch for comments/stories from Nicky T (WSJ) or anyone from Goldman as they are ‘sources of leaks’ by the Fed, when they want to float a balloon (or an idea) to see how the markets react."