Mixed Close on Wall Street: Eyes on Data Ahead of Fed

Wall Street Closed with Mixed Signals

The New York stock exchange finished the day with mixed signals. At the closing, the Dow Jones index decreased by 0.07% to 47,851.16 points. In contrast, the S&P 500 index increased by 0.11% to reach 6,856.94 points, while the Nasdaq index gained 0.22% to rise to 23,505.14 points.

Economic Data Affecting Investors

Before the monetary policy meeting that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold next week, macroeconomic data have been in the spotlight for investors. While data showing a decline in private sector employment has been released, it was reported that unemployment benefit claims have fallen to the lowest level since September 2022. According to the announcements, the number of first-time unemployment benefit claimants fell to 191,000 for the week ending November 29, coming in below market expectations.

Layoffs and Order Data

The report published by consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas stated that the number of layoffs announced by U.S.-based employers increased by 24% year-on-year in November to 71,321. In the eleven months of the year, layoffs reached a total of 1,170,821 people, reflecting a 54% increase compared to the same period last year. In addition, the factory orders in September showed an increase of 0.2%, falling short of expectations.

Fed Expectations and PCE Data

As expectations grow that the Fed may implement a rate cut in its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for December 9-10, markets are pricing in a 87% probability for a 25 basis point cut next week. Analysts suggest that significant economic data will be carefully evaluated by investors prior to the Fed's interest rate decision, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data to be released on Friday expected to provide important clues about the inflation outlook.

Activity in Corporate Stocks

On the corporate side, shares of Meta gained 3.4% after reports that its CEO Mark Zuckerberg is considering reducing the budget allocated for metaverse projects by 30%. Software company Salesforce rose 3.7% after exceeding its revenue expectations. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon saw its shares drop 1.4% after it decided to withdraw from its partnership with the U.S. Postal Service while preparing to expand its delivery network nationwide.