US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq dip in choppy trading after economic data

Axos Financial

04/06/2024 15:54

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        * 
      US job openings fall more than expected in April
    

        * 
      Axos Financial falls as Hindenburg Research reveals short
position 
    

        * 
      Bath & Body Works drops lower on profit forecast revision
    

        * 
      Indexes: Dow up 0.19%, S&P down 0.21%, Nasdaq down 0.34% 
    

  
 (Updated at 10:18 am ET/1418 GMT)
    By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Johann M  Cherian
       June 4 (Reuters) - 
    The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped on Tuesday after the
latest labor market data compounded worries about growing
weakness in the world's largest economy.
  
        Indexes initially pared gains after a Labor Department
report showed 
    job openings
     were down to 8.05 million in April, lower than an
expectation of 8.35 million, ahead of the closely watched
nonfarm payrolls figures for May, due on Friday. 
  
        Separately, the Commerce Department said orders for
manufactured goods rose 0.7%, higher than economists'
expectation of a 0.6% increase.
  
        Following the data, yields on Treasury bonds slipped,
with expectations for a September rate reduction standing at
66.66%, up from about 65% before the report, according to the
CME's FedWatch tool.  US/ 
  
        Rate-sensitive megacap stocks including Nvidia  NVDA.O ,
Apple  AAPL.O , Meta  META.O  and Microsoft  MSFT.O  were among
the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and were down between 
    0.6
    % and 
    0.8
    %.
  
    Data on Monday showed U.S. factory activity had slowed more
than expected in May and construction spending had dropped in
April, weighing on stocks, although the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
closed the session slightly higher.
        "The ISM manufacturing yesterday (indicated) a slowdown
in growth or decrease in activity, and if we see a slowdown in
nonfarm payrolls, that's going to be more of a warning sign,"
said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. 
  
        He also cited profit-taking and rotation away from
megacaps as reasons for the decline. 
  
        "A number of stocks have gotten hit harder than the
overall market, but those are the ones that have performed
extremely well." 
  
        Broadly strong corporate earnings coupled with seemingly
resilient economic growth kept Wall Street optimistic and buoyed
stocks over several months. However, a string of recent data has
given rise to worries, even as markets now expect an earlier
start to rate cuts.
  
        Oil companies Exxon Mobil  XOM.N  and Chevron  CVX.N 
dropped 1.4% and 2.4%, respectively, as demand concerns weighed
on crude prices. Energy stocks  .SPNY  led S&P 500 sectoral
declines with a 
    1.5
    % fall.  O/R 
  
    At 10:18 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI 
was up 74.32 points, or 0.19%, at 38,645.35, the S&P 500  .SPX 
was down 10.99 points, or 0.21%, at 5,272.41, and the Nasdaq
Composite  .IXIC  was down 57.87 points, or 0.34%, at 16,770.80.
        The blue-chip Dow, underpinned by healthcare stocks,
eked out gains, while the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 Small-Caps
Index  .RUT  declined 0.7%.
    Among others, Bath & Body Works  BBWI.N  dropped 10.5% after
a lower revision to its quarterly profit forecast.
        Axos Financial  AX.N  plunged 8.7% after Hindenburg
Research disclosed a short position in the lender. 
    Paramount Global  PARA.O  lost 2.7% after the streaming firm
said it was exploring strategic options or a joint venture for
the Paramount+ streaming service.
        Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.62-to-1
ratio on the 
    Nasdaq
     and by 
    a 1.39-to-1 ratio on the NYSE
    .
  
        The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and four
new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 
    21
     new highs and 
    59
     new lows.
  

 (Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru;
Editing by Pooja Desai)
 ((LisaPauline.Mattackal@thomsonreuters.com;))