Stocks are down Wednesday following a two-day rally that had pulled Wall Street out of the September slump.
Stocks were down Wednesday following a two-day rally that had kicked off the the final quarter of the year with a bang.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 292 points, or 0.96%, to 30,024, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.30%.
The downturn follows Tuesday’s surge when stocks leaped for a second day, with the Dow industrials up 825 points, or 2.8%, the S&P 500 tacking on 3.06% and Nasdaq surging 3.34%.
The major indexes had fallen in August and September amid sharp inflation and the Federal Reserve’s determination to crush it with interest-rate increases.
Private sector employment increased by 208,000 jobs in September and annual pay was up 7.8% year-over-year, according to the ADP employment report.
“We are continuing to see steady job gains,” Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP, said in a statement. “While job stayers saw a pay increase, annual pay growth for job changers in September is down from August.”
Peter Essele, head of portfolio management for Commonwealth Financial Network said “the increase in hiring is a rebound from August, but it’s still well below the average over the last year.”
“Combined with the rollover in the Jolts jobs numbers yesterday that indicated a slowdown in hiring, today’s release sheds light on a softening labor market that may spell trouble ahead for the economy,” Essele said. “As a result, investors should be wary of trying to capitalize on recent gains in the stock market, a likely scenario of picking of pennies in front of a steamroller.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of electric-vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc. Report , put his offer for the microblogging website Twitter (TWTR) – Get Twitter Inc. Report — $54.20 a share, or $44 billion — back on the table, according to a regulatory filing, TheStreet’s Luc Olinga reported.
Musk had made the offer for Twitter on April 25 but withdrew it on July 8, saying the company had lied to him about the number of fake accounts on the platform. Twitter filed suit, asking the Delaware Chancery Court to compel Musk to make good on his commitment. A five-day trial was supposed to start Oct. 17
Musk’s bid is conditioned on Twitter dropping the lawsuit. Twitter shares closed on Tuesday at $52, 4% below Musk’s offer price, and were off 2.1% to $50.90 at last check. How to monetize Twitter will be one of Musk’s knottiest efforts if and when he closes the deal.
Separately, Tesla said it would be using only cameras in the driver-assist functions of its electric cars, removing ultrasonic sensors from the vehicles.
Elecktrek reported that originally Tesla’s driver-assist system encompassed eight cameras, a front-facing radar, and several ultrasonic sensors all around its vehicles.
OPEC+ could slash its oil-production targets when it meets Wednesday, even as the U.S. pressures the group to produce more, Reuters reported.
The cut in an already tight oil market could prompt a rise in oil prices, which in three months have fallen 25% to around $90 from $120. That decline came on the back of concerns that the global economy could fall into recession; interest-rate increases from the Federal Reserve, and a stronger dollar, Reuters reported.
OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, is mulling cuts of 1 million to 2 million barrels a day, sources told the news service.
