by - US stocks closed lower on Wednesday after volatile swings in the final minutes of the session.
- The S&P 500 energy sector gained on the back of rising oil prices after OPEC+ decided to cut production by 2 million barrels per day.
- ADP said jobs at private sector employers rose by 208,000 in September.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after volatile swings in the final minutes of the session, retreating from a huge two-day rally to start the week.
Shares had fallen for much of the session, then reached positive territory near the end of the day, only to reverse those short-lived gains by the end. The S&P 500’s energy sector rose as oil prices rose after OPEC+ announced it would cut output by 2 million barrels a day starting in November.
“The recent rally can probably be attributed to deeply oversold conditions plus some positives in the Fed’s pivot narrative, including a sharp decline in US jobs and a lower-than-expected rate hike in Australia,” Ross said. Mayfield. Investment Strategist Baird Private Wealth Management told Insider in emailed comments.
“However, the bar for a true Fed pivot remains much higher and there is still little evidence that core inflation is easing enough for the Fed to be comfortable,” he said.
Here’s where US indices were at the closing bell at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday:
Early Wednesday, ADP’s private sector jobs report showed employers in September increased payrolls by 208,000, slightly above the Econoday consensus estimate of 200,000. The report was the second under ADP’s new methodology and came ahead of the US government’s September non-farm payrolls report.
“We remain cautiously positioned, as we have been for much of this year, with a smaller-than-usual allocation to equities and a larger-than-usual allocation to high-quality bonds and global infrastructure,” Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at US Bank Wealth. Management, he told Insider.
“Investors are looking for signs of a Fed pivot, but we think it’s highly unlikely until inflation falls significantly. Unfortunately, measures like the Cleveland Fed’s reduced average CPI and the Atlanta Fed’s ‘sticky CPI’ (which tracks CPI data which are slow to change) are still rising, indicating that inflation could take some time to ease to the extent the Fed needs to see.”
Here’s what else is happening today:
In Commodities, Bonds and Crypto:
