The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite continued their record-high closing streak into Tuesday as markets evaluated the official job openings report for October. The technology-heavy Nasdaq increased by 0.4% to 19,480.9, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% to 6,049.9. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% to 44,705.5.
Among market sectors, communication services led the way in gains, whereas utilities experienced the largest decline. In essential economic news, US job openings jumped to 7.74 million by the end of October, up from the previous month’s 7.37 million figure, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' job openings and labor turnover survey.
The consensus was for a level of 7.52 million in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Overall, the data suggest "a still strong, albeit cooling," labor market, as noted by Oxford Economics. The labor market in the US remains robust, even as inflation appears to be on a trajectory towards the policymakers' target of 2%.
However, Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler pointed out that there have been "some bumps" along the way. The likelihood of a 25-basis-point decrease in interest rates at the Fed's upcoming meeting soared to 70% on Tuesday, up from 62% the previous day, according to data from the CME FedWatch tool. In consumer spending news, online sales this Cyber Monday surpassed expectations, hitting a record $13.3 billion, according to Adobe Analytics' holiday shopping data. In the bond market, the US 10-year yield edged up by 3.2 basis points to reach 4.23% on Tuesday, while the two-year rate fell by 1.9 basis points to 4.18%. In company-specific news, Palantir Technologies announced it has received FedRAMP 'high authorization' for its cloud services, enabling the company to expand its offerings to more US government units.
This announcement propelled the company’s shares up by 6.9%, making it the leading gainer on the S&P 500. AT&T was another standout performer on the S&P 500, rising 4.6% after detailing its long-term strategy, which includes returning over $40 billion to shareholders and broadening its fiber network to exceed 50 million locations across the US. However, not all news was positive, as Microchip Technology shares dropped 7%, the worst-performing stock on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
The company indicated that it expects its fiscal third-quarter revenue to be at the low end of its prior guidance range of $1.03 billion to $1.10 billion. Intel also faced challenges, experiencing a 6.1% decline as it deals with the aftermath of CEO Pat Gelsinger's recent retirement. The company is reportedly considering external candidates for the CEO role, including Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy, as cited by Bloomberg News. In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rose by 2.7% to $69.91 a barrel.
Gold prices increased by 0.3% to $2,665.70 per troy ounce, while silver surged by 2.1% to $31.51 per ounce..