Wall Street shares closed between slight gains and losses this Wednesday, in a session in which investors avoided making big bets ahead of the important US employment report, which will be released on Friday.
The main indices traded with some volatility throughout the session, with the S&P 500 surpassing the 5,900 point mark, rising 0.09% to 5,914.64 points, while the Dow Jones industrial gained 0.25% to 42,635. 20 points and the technological Nasdaq fell 0.06%, to 19,478.88 points.
Stocks were also pressured by U.S. Treasury yields, which surpassed the 4.7% mark, something that hasn’t happened since last spring.
The high level of fixed profitability of “Treasuries”, driven by the inflationary agenda of the future Trump administration, makes shares less attractive to investors, in addition to increasing borrowing costs.
Traders’ focus is now on employment data, as US stock markets will be on pause on Thursday, in observance of national mourning following the death of former US president Jimmy Carter.
Forecasts suggest that U.S. employers will have moderated hiring last month to cap off a year of modest but still healthy growth that economists expect to continue into 2025.
The data will be closely followed by those responsible for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to define the direction of key rates. The minutes of the most recent meeting, published this Wednesday, did not bring much news, reiterating that the central bank will proceed more slowly with interest rate cuts, given the risks of inflation remaining high.
Still, Fed Governor Christopher Waller believes inflation will continue to ease toward the central bank’s target of 2%.
“While the continued strength of the labor market should keep expectations around one or two cuts in 2025 for now, we continue to believe that inflation will continue its slow downward trend while employment remains balanced, allowing the Fed cuts three times in 2025”, says Chris Senyek, from Wolfe Research, cited by Bloomberg.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
