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US stocks were little changed on Wednesday as investors looked to data that signaled more cooling in the labor market. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all traded flat after the gauges closed Tuesday mixed.
On Wednesday, fresh signs of softening in the labour market were brought to light, as the ADP gauge on private payrolls missed expectations, finding that 103,000 jobs were added in November.
This came after Tuesday’s soft reading on jobs openings bolstered optimism for a Fed pivot to cutting interest rates. Markets are pricing in at least 100 basis points of cuts next year, but doubts about policy remain, with strategists warning those bets look “overdone.”
Investors will be closely watching the November jobs report on Friday, with the end of both the auto workers’ and actors’ strikes last month expected to translate to more payroll gains.
The November employment report should show an acceleration in job growth, driven by the return of striking UAW and SAG-AFTRA workers. The end of the United Auto Workers strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike will boost job growth by roughly 45,000, with an estimated job growth of 160,000, down from 183,000 in October.
New data from ADP revealed the US added 103,000 private payroll jobs, below economists’ expectations for 110,000 job gains. Leisure and hospitality, once an industry that couldn’t find enough workers during the pandemic, dropped 7,000 jobs in November. The return to trend in leisure and hospitality suggests the economy as a whole will see more moderate hiring and wage growth in 2024.
