The US markets ended mostly in green on Wednesday amid uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates following the release of mixed U.S. jobs data. While payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector job growth slowed more than expected in December, the Labor Department released a report showing weekly jobless claims unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in almost eleven months. ADP said private sector employment rose by 122,000 jobs in December after climbing by 146,000 jobs in November. Street had expected private sector employment to grow by 140,000 jobs. The report said hiring slowed in several industries, while employment in the manufacturing sector shrank for the third straight month.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a separate report unexpectedly showing another modest decrease by initial jobless claims in the week ended January 4th. The report said initial jobless claims slipped to 201,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 218,000. With the unexpected dip, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 200,000 in the week ended February 17, 2024. On the sectoral front, Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets. Gold stocks showed a significant move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 2.5 percent. The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 106.84 points or 0.25 percent to 42,635.2 and S&P 500 was up by 9.22 points or 0.16 percent to 5,918.25, while Nasdaq dropped 10.8 points or 0.06 percent to 19,478.88.
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