WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks continued to experience choppy trading on Tuesday. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the trading day before eventually closing on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 54.05 points or 0.2 percent to 23,111.46, the S&P 500 slipped 16.25 points or 0.2 percent to 6,800.26 and the Dow slid 302.30 points or 0.6 percent to 48,114.26.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came following the release of the Labor Department's report on employment in the month of November.
While report showed stronger than expected job growth in November, the increase followed a notable loss of jobs in October.
The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 64,000 jobs in November after tumbling by 105,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 4.5 percent.
With the bigger than expected increase, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting 4.7 percent in September 2021.
Most economists said the data has increased the likelihood the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the near future, but the report also raised concerns about the strength of the economy.
'Although the market generally cheers rate cuts, if the Fed is forced to cut rates more aggressively next year because we are headed into a recession, the stock market will drop instead,' said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. were roughly flat in the month of October.
The Commerce Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in October after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in September.
Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.
However, excluding a steep drop in auto sales, retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in October after edging up by 0.1 percent in September. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.
Sector News
While many of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, energy stocks saw substantial weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
With the price of crude oil plummeting to its lowest levels since early 2021, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index plunged by 4.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbled by 3.6 percent.
Pharmaceutical, healthcare and networking stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while computer hardware stocks regained some ground following recent weakness.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.1 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved higher as traders reacted to the mixed jobs data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, declined 3.3 basis points to 4.149 percent.
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