by Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in mixed order on Thursday, with only the Dow Jones registering in the green while the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq marked slight declines after their records the day before, the investors having adopted a cautious stance ahead of Friday’s release of a key jobs report.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.20%, or 78.84 points, to 38,886.17 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 1.07 points, or 0.02%, to 5,352.96 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 14.78 points (0.09%) to 17,173.12 points.

If they started the day up in the wake of their gains the day before, establishing new records during the session, the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq marked time under the effect of the decline in technology stocks, to finally end marginally in the red.

While weekly jobless claims in the United States have increased, seeming to confirm that the job market is no longer as stressed as recent data suggested, investors are awaiting the report from the US Department of Labor to have a more complete panorama.

This is a crucial element with a view to seeing the American Federal Reserve (Fed) make a shift in its monetary policy. For its part, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its first rate cut since 2019 on Thursday.

Discussing today’s session, Bill Strazzullo, chief strategist at Bell Curve Trading in Boston, noted a “kind of pause” ahead of Friday’s jobs data.

“It’s not unusual,” he added. “We had a big day yesterday, people have positioned themselves today” before the report on the labor market.

According to CME’s FedWatch, traders are currently betting 68% on a rate cut in September, a sharp increase compared to the previous week. They anticipate two declines in total this year, according to LSEG data.

Wall Street has been driven since the start of the year by the heavyweights of artificial intelligence (AI), first and foremost Nvidia, against a backdrop of growing investor enthusiasm for the sector.

After having dethroned Apple the day before as the second largest market capitalization in the world, Nvidia lost 1.1% on Thursday and fell back to third place.

Among major sectors, utilities and industrials declined and, like technology, weighed on the S&P-500.

On the value side, note the 4.8% increase in Lululemon Athletica which published quarterly profit and turnover higher than expectations.

Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO ended down 6.8% after reporting a quarterly loss.

Five Below plunged 10.6% after downgrading its annual sales forecast.

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(Written by Jean Terzian)

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