US stocks slipped on Wednesday amid fresh signs of economic malaise, as oil prices hit lows not seen since June and investors looked to data that signaled more cooling in the labor market.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.4% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped more nearly 0.2% or about 70 points. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed roughly 0.6%.
Wednesday brought fresh signs of softening in the labor market, as the ADP gauge on private payrolls missed expectations, finding that 103,000 jobs were added in November.
That came after Tuesday's soft reading on jobs openings bolstered optimism for a Fed pivot to cutting interest rates. Markets are pricing in at least 100 basis points of cuts next year. But doubts about policy remain, with strategists warning those bets look "overdone."
Oil prices hit a five-month low on Wednesday as new data showed further signs of weak demand. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) fell 4%, settling at $69.38 per barrel. Brent (BZ=F) crude, the international benchmark price, was down more than 3.6%, closing at $74.30 per barrel level.
Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) briefly surged past $44,000 as more retail investors dived in and embraced hopes for rate cuts and coming spot bitcoin ETFs. The leading digital asset has since given up those gains, coming off notching a six-day win streak, its longest since May, on Tuesday.
Source : Yahoo Finance / Dec 6, 2023