US stocks ticked higher on Wednesday after snapping their longest win streak this year as investors looked to Federal Reserve minutes and jobs data likely to shape bets on interest rate cuts.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose about 0.3% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was just above the flat line.
Stocks are eyeing a return to recovery from an early August sell-off as focus intensifies on the labor market as a factor in the Fed’s policymaking, given inflation seems to be subsiding.
Meanwhile, quarterly reports from Target (TGT) and Macy’s (M) shed light on the retail sector and the consumer before the bell. Target shares jumped after its earnings blew past Wall Street targets, but Macy’s shares sank after the retailer posted a sales drop.
But overall, investors are treading cautiously ahead of Jerome Powell’s appearance at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Expectations for a September rate cut are running high, and his comments will be closely watched for signs a 0.5% reduction is on the table.
On Wednesday, new data showed the US economy employed 818,000 fewer people than originally reported as of March 2024, showing the labor market may have been cooling long before initially thought. But economists were pointed out the updated data still reflect a labor market that’s softening but not "rapidly deteriorating."
The minutes from the Fed’s July meeting due later will also be scrutinized for insight into the likelihood and magnitude of a lowering in borrowing costs next month.
Elsewhere in corporates, Walmart (WMT) confirmed it has shed its stake in JD.com (JD, 9618.HK), raising about $3.6 billion in the sale. The Chinese e-commerce giant’s shares tumbled in Hong Kong, spurring a slump in Chinese techs, while its US-listed stock sank 7% in early trading.
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