Wall Street was without a clear trend at the start of a session featuring a slew of economic data on Wednesday, but the Nasdaq was still able to hit a new record despite cautious trading on the eve of Independence Day.
As of the morning close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 0.1% to 39,276.2, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up nearly 0.5% to 18,111.5 after hitting a record high of over 276.2 on Independence Day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index was up nearly 0.5% to 18,111.5 after hitting a record high of over 18,113.1.
Trading volume and activity is expected to be low, with trading scheduled to be halted at 1 p.m. New York time.
To make matters worse, lackluster data released during the morning did not help investors take a clear position.
Services sector activity contracted for the second time in three months, according to the latest survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
The ISM Services Index came in at 48.8 in June, down five points from May (53.8). Economists on average had expected it to be around 52.5.
On the employment front, jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 238,000 for the week ending July 29, a further sign that the labor market is easing and could prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September.
In another sign of the economy’s moderation, the private sector added just 150,000 jobs last month, down 2.5% from the previous month, according to the latest survey released by ADP, which showed just 150,000 jobs added last month, slightly below what economists had expected.
However, these weaker-than-expected figures could prompt the Federal Reserve to cut its key interest rates as early as September, creating a rather bullish bias for stock markets.
As if to illustrate this point, the figures released this morning had the effect of pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to its lowest level in nearly a month (4.34%).
In response to these indicators, the dollar has also tended to fall against the euro, which has taken advantage of this situation to rise to around 1.1805.
Regarding crude oil, WTI has returned to its highest level since May, at around $83 per barrel, following the announcement of a drawdown in U.S. crude oil inventories last week.
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