The 30-stock Dow jumped 140.26 points, or 0.36%, to end at 38,711.29, the S&P 500 advanced 0.15% to close the session at 5,291.34, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.17% to 16,857.05
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained on Tuesday as Wall Street sought its footing after an uneven start to the month.
The 30-stock Dow jumped 140.26 points, or 0.36%, to end at 38,711.29. The S&P 500 advanced 0.15% to close the session at 5,291.34, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.17% to 16,857.05. Treasury yields were notably down, with the rate on the benchmark 10-year note sliding nearly 7 bps.
Dow Inc., 3M and Caterpillar dropped more than 1%, keeping gains for the blue-chip index in check. Bath & Body Works was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, shedding around 13% on the back of disappointing guidance.
Wall Street is focusing on the crucial nonfarm payrolls report for May on Friday. Investors want a labour market that is weak enough to allow the central bank to reduce interest rates, but not so weak that it spurs concerns over a potential recession.
Right now, the market is looking for a catalyst, according to Megan Horneman, CIO at Verdence Capital Advisors, which manages more than $3 billion in assets. There’s going to come a point where the bad news is actually bad news.
Investors also parsed the latest reading on the state of the jobs market. Employment data from the Labor Department showed 8.059 million vacancies in April, the lowest level in over three years. An estimate from Dow Jones called for 8.4 million openings. Traders are now pricing in an almost 62% probability of two rate cuts this year, up from nearly 36% a week ago, as per the CME FedWatch Tool.
