The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite extended their impressive record-high closing streak into Tuesday as markets evaluated the official job openings report for October. The technology-heavy Nasdaq rose by 0.4% to close at 19,480.9, while the S&P 500 inched up by 0.1% to settle at 6,049.9. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2% to finish at 44,705.5.
Among various sectors, communication services led the way in gains, whereas utilities experienced the largest declines. In terms of economic indicators, US job openings increased to 7.74 million as of the final day of October, a rise from September's figure of 7.37 million, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' job openings and labor turnover survey.
A consensus forecast had anticipated a 7.52 million reading based on a survey published by Bloomberg. Overall, the data suggest a labor market that remains robust, albeit showing signs of moderation, as noted by Oxford Economics. On Tuesday, the likelihood of a 25-basis-point reduction in interest rates during the Federal Reserve's meeting later this month surged to approximately 72%, up from 62% recorded on Monday, as indicated by the CME FedWatch tool. Online spending on Cyber Monday exceeded expectations, reaching a historic $13.3 billion, as per Adobe Analytics' holiday shopping data. The US 10-year yield rose by 3.4 basis points to 4.23% on Tuesday, whereas the two-year rate decreased by 2.1 basis points to 4.18%. In corporate updates, Palantir Technologies announced that it received FedRAMP 'high authorization' for its cloud services, enabling the company to offer its solutions to more US government units.
Following this announcement, Palantir's shares surged nearly 7%, making it the top gainer on the S&P 500. AT&T was another standout performer, climbing 4.6% after the telecommunications giant unveiled its long-term strategy, pledging to return over $40 billion to shareholders while expanding its fiber network to more than 50 million locations across the United States. On the other hand, Microchip Technology faced a decline of 7%, becoming the worst performer on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
The company anticipated its fiscal Q3 revenue would approach the lower end of its previously stated guidance, which ranged from $1.03 billion to $1.10 billion, attributing the slowdown to lower-than-expected orders. Intel experienced a significant loss as well, down 6.1%, amid reports that the chipmaker is exploring external candidates to fill its CEO vacancy, with Marvell Technology CEO Matt Murphy among those considered, as per reports from Bloomberg.
This comes on the heels of Pat Gelsinger's retirement as Intel's CEO on Sunday. On the commodities front, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices climbed 2.8% to reach $69.98 per barrel. The data indicated the US labor market remains solid, while inflation appears to be on a trajectory toward policymakers' 2% target, despite experiencing “some bumps” along the way, according to Fed Governor Adriana Kugler. Gold prices gained 0.2%, closing at $2,664.40 per troy ounce, while silver surged by 2.1% to $31.52 per ounce..