NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- US stocks ended mixed on Wednesday, as Wall Street attempted to recover from a sluggish start to September, reported Xinhua.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.04 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 40,974.97. The S&P 500 sank 8.86 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 5,520.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 52.00 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 17,084.3.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and materials leading the laggards by losing 1.41 per cent and 0.48 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, utilities and consumer staples led the gainers by rising 0.85 per cent and 0.52 per cent, respectively.
Investors are looking ahead to Friday's monthly jobs report, which is anticipated to provide crucial insights into the Federal Reserve's rate cut plans and will offer clues about whether the economy is heading toward a recession or a soft landing.
"At least on the margins, you're seeing some nibbling after that sell-off yesterday," said Keith Lerner, Truist's co-chief investment officer. "Investors are a bit on edge, it's a low-conviction trade. Everyone is waiting for this Friday employment report, and until then, we're in a bit of a holding pattern."
US job openings declined for the second month in a row in July, dropping to approximately 7.67 million from 7.91 million in June, according to the latest data released Wednesday by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. This marked the lowest level of job openings since January 2021.
On Wednesday, Nvidia dropped 1.66 per cent after Bloomberg reported that the US Justice Department issued subpoenas to the chipmaker. This decline followed a more than 9 per cent fall in Nvidia's stock on Tuesday, part of a broader semiconductor pullback.
Also on Wednesday, some major tech and chip stocks rebounded. Advanced Micro Devices and Tesla saw gains of 2.87 per cent and 4.18 per cent, respectively. Additionally, Meta Platforms, Marvell Technology and Qualcomm also edged higher.
--BERNAMA-XINHUA