Market News
U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors reacted to stronger-than-expected private sector job gains and anticipated further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in November. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all finished the day in positive territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.1% or 39.55 points to close at 42,196.52. 14 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 16 ended in negative.
The major gainer of the Dow was Salesforce, Inc. CRM. The stock price of this cloud computing solution company rose 3.2%. Salesforce currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 14.76 points or 0.1% to 17,925.12.
The S&P 500 gained 0.01%, or 0.79 points, to end at 5,709.54. Four broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green, while seven ended in the red. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), the
Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) rose 1%, 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 1.9% to 18.90. A total of 11.81 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.05 billion. The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 80 new highs and 133 new lows.
Stronger-Than-Expected Job Gains in September
In September, there was an increase in hiring by companies reflecting resilience in the labor market. According to the ADP report, 143,000 jobs were added by businesses compared to the revised 103,000 in August, surpassing the consensus estimate of 128,000.
As the Federal Reserve monitors labor data closely, officials are contemplating more cuts in interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell mentioned that the job market is in "solid" shape but also noted a slowdown compared to last year. After the half-point rate cut, in September, the Fed expected additional interest cuts in November based on the latest economic data.
Crude Oil Inventories Surged
Per a government report, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) for the week ended Sept. 27, 2024, increased by 3.9 million barrels from the previous week. The number from the prior week remained unrevised at a decrease of 4.5 million barrels.
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Salesforce Inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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