U.S. stocks were mixed Tuesday as a fall in job openings to three-year lows pointed to weaker economic growth, but also lifted hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut this year.
At 13:46 ET (17:46 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64 points or 0.2%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.2%
Job openings fall to three-year lows
The number of job openings for April fell to a more than three-year low of 8.1 million, confounding economists’ estimates for an increase to 8.37M.
The data pointing to easing in the labour market suggest the economic strength seen so far this year could be cooling. As the Fed has previously flagged a downturn in the labour market as a condition to begin easing rates, bets on a rate cut in September jumped to 55% from 44.9% last week, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor tool.
Treasury yields fell on improved hopes for a rate cut this year, with the yield on the 10-year trading 5 basis points lower at 4.346%.
The fresh update on job openings comes ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report due Friday, with the Fed meeting to follow next week.
Intel unveils new AI chips, Tesla hit by China sales drop, Gamestop cools rally
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) unveiled a slew of artificial intelligence chips, a day after Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) made a similar announcement as the chipmaker looks to narrow the wide gap on its rivals. However, some on Wall Street suggest that further upgrades from Intel will likely be needed before it can meaningfully compete with its rivals.
“We continue to see limited traction for Intel on this front, and believe Intel’s success in AI likely will have to wait for Falcon Shores and its traction with that part,” Wedbush said in a Wednesday note.
Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock fell 0.5% after its sales of China-made electric vehicles fell by 6.6% to 72,573 in May compared to a year ago, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Guggenheim analyst Roland Jewsikow, a Tesla bear, said he sees Tesla shares falling to $126 a share, suggesting a nearly 30% downside from Tesla’s current price, citing worries about falling sales.
GameStop (NYSE: GME) stock fell 3% in volatile trading, handing back some of the previous session’s sharp rally after stock influencer Keith Gill appeared to hold on to gains in his holdings of the videogame retailer following a sharp rally on Monday.
On the earnings front, Bath&Body Works weaker second-quarter guidance overshadowed Q1 results that beat expectations, sending shares of the retailer more than 13% lower.
Energy continues to slide as oil prices tumble
Energy stocks continued to be pressured by fallout from an OPEC+ to increase in supply later this year continued to weigh on sentiment.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, on Sunday agreed to extend most of their oil output cuts into 2025 but left room for voluntary cuts from eight members to be gradually unwound.
Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL), Baker Hughes Co (NASDAQ: BKR), and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) were among the biggest decliners in the energy sector.
