(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Wednesday, penalized by the largest capitalizations and the energy sector, even if the publication of indicators showing a deceleration of the employment market in the United States fueled hopes of an upcoming rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones index fell 0.19%, or 70.13 points, to 36,054.43 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 17.84 points, or 0.39%, to 4,549.34 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 83.2 points (-0.58%) to 14,146.71 points.

The ADP survey on job creation in the private sector, published on Wednesday, showed that job creation was lower than expected in November.

On Tuesday, the “Jolts” employment report (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) had already shown that the number of job offers had fallen in October to its lowest level since the start of 2021.

These two indicators are all the more important as investors remain cautious before Friday’s publication of the Labor Department’s monthly employment report. The data series released Tuesday and Wednesday raise hopes that the report will not surprise on the upside.

Labor market tensions remain a major contributor to inflation across the Atlantic and a slowdown is encouraging investors to bet that the Federal Reserve is done with rate hikes.

“For now, it’s consistent with the overall trajectory of slowing job growth, and so far it’s not a problem as the economy continues to churn,” said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

“What would be concerning is if this trend were to persist for too long and generate significant job losses.”

Falling energy stocks weighed on major indexes, with oil prices falling 4% as a larger-than-expected rise in U.S. gasoline inventories heightened concerns about oil demand.

Microsoft (-0.99%), Amazon (-1.60%) and Nvidia (-2.28%) also lost ground.

(Written by Noel Randewich and Amruta Khandekar, Tangi Salaün)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters