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US Stocks Decline Amid Anticipation of NFP Report

US stocks are declining due to the anticipation of jobs data, considered the most important on the economic calendar for the month, after initial indicators highlighted a slowdown in job growth and a rise in unemployment levels in the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 44,848 points, losing about 166 points or 0.4%. The S&P 500 also declined to 6,082 points, dropping by about five points or less than 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded limited losses at 19,730 points, falling by less than 0.1%.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States rose to 224,000 for the week ending November 29, compared to the previous reading of 215,000, which was higher than market expectations that indicated the same level as the previous reading.

Statements by Mary Daly, President of the Federal Reserve in San Francisco and a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, also created a negative sentiment for the US dollar, which fell after she emphasized the need to continue cutting interest rates in the coming period.

Despite this, the reading for the total number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits declined to 1.871 million for the week ending November 22, compared to the previous reading of 1.896 million.

Preliminary employment indicators tend to be slightly negative, as the ADP National Employment Report showed a rise of 146,000 jobs in the US private sector in November, compared to the previous reading of 184,000 jobs, which was below market expectations of 150,000 jobs.

The US Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed an increase of 372,000 job openings in November, reaching 7.744 million, which was higher than market expectations of 7.519 million, according to data released last Tuesday.

Key Factors to Warch:

• Anticipation of US jobs data
• Rising unemployment claims
• Mixed signals from other labour market indicators
• Federal Reserve policy expectations
• The market is reacting to concerns about a potential slowdown in the US economy.

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