The tech-heavy Nasdaq hit a fresh three-month high, led by Amazon.com Inc and Advanced Micro Devices, while losses in Apple Inc and energy stocks including Exxon Mobil weighed on the S&P 500.
Worries about a slowing global economy pushed oil prices to their lowest since before Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine and U.S. bond yields slipped after the Bank of England warned of a long recession.
Strong earnings reports and data showing a surprise pick up in services sector activity sent the main indexes sharply higher in the previous session.
“The market is looking for direction after a strong bounce that relieved the deep pessimism that had permeated the markets,” Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management.
“Many signs indicate that inflation has peaked, and the question now turns to how quickly it will come down or whether stickier components will keep it higher than the Fed is comfortable with.”
Focus will be on Friday’s closely watched U.S. employment report, which is expected to show nonfarm payrolls increased by 250,000 jobs last month, after rising by 372,000 jobs in June.
Any signs of strength in the labor market could into feed fears of aggressive measures by the Fed.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, a voting member of the rate-setting panel, reiterated the need to see several months of inflation coming back down toward the Fed’s 2% target before policymakers feel they can let up on tightening monetary policy.
The S&P 500 has gained about 14% from its mid-June lows, but is still down about 13% for the year on concerns around the fallout of the Ukraine war, soaring inflation, COVID-19 flare-ups in China and an aggressive rise in interest rates.
According to preliminary data, The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 85.31 points, or 0.26%, to 32,727.19, the S&P 500 lost 3.15 points, or 0.08%, to 4,152.02 and the Nasdaq Composite added 52.42 points, or 0.41%, to 12,720.58.
Shares of crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc jumped after it announced a tieup with BlackRock to provide its institutional clients access to crypto trading and custody services.
Health insurer Cigna Corp gained after raising its annual profit forecast.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co slipped as it cut annual profit view for the second time.
Facebook-parent Meta Platforms said it would make its first-ever bond offering.
