Wall Street inches up as Middle East tensions keep investors on edge
For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.
ADP survey: US adds 143,000 private jobs in September
Tesla drops on downbeat Q3 vehicle deliveries
Nike falls after withdrawing annual revenue forecast
Humana tanks as fewer members in Medicare Advantage plans
Indexes up: Dow 0.09%, S&P 500 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.32%
Updated at 12:10 a.m. ET/1610 GMT
By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal
Oct 2 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged higher on Wednesday but were near two-week lowsas investors watched for an escalation ingeopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while a survey soothed concerns about a rapid cooldown in the U.S. labor market.
Markets remained cautious as Israel and the U.S. vowed to strike back after Iran attacked Israel on Tuesday, following which the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged their biggest one-day falls in nearly a month.
At 12:10 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 37.78 points, or 0.09%, to 42,194.75, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 7.82 points, or 0.14%, to 5,716.57 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 57.33 points, or 0.32%, to 17,967.69.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were higher, with Energy stocks .SPNY touching a more than one-month high. They were last up 0.9%.
Oil prices climbed more than 3% as traders priced in possible supply disruptions from the Middle East. Chevron CVX.N and Exxon Mobil XOM.N added 1% and 0.5%, respectively. O/R
Defense stocks such as Lockheed Martin LMT.N and RTX RTX.N were flat after the broader S&P 500 aerospace and defense index .SPLRCAERO hit a record high on Tuesday.
"Investors are certainly cautious amid the increasing global tensions. There's limited spillover at this point, but it certainly remains something that investors are closely watching," said Timothy Chubb, chief investment officer at Girard.
Most semiconductor stocks traded higher, with Nvidia gaining NVDA.O 1.7%, sparking a 2.3% rise in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX. The broader infotech sector .SPLRCT gained 0.8%.
Fueling optimism, data showed U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in September, further evidence that labor market conditions were not deteriorating.
"The data coming in a bit above consensus certainly falls into the Goldilocks narrative, but not strong enough to necessarily derail the Fed's easing cycle," Chubb said.
Odds of a quarter-percentage-point rate reduction at the Fed's November meeting are at 65.7%, up from 42.6% a week ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
Comments from Fed policymakers including Beth Hammack and Alberto Musalem are scheduled through the day, while the focus will stay on Friday's non-farm payrolls data for September.
Markets ended September higher after the U.S. Federal Reserve kicked off its monetary-policy-easing cycle with an unusual 50-basis-point rate cut to shore up the jobs market.
A dockworkers' strike on the East and Gulf coasts, costing the economy roughly $5 billion per day according to JPMorgan analyst estimates, entered its second day.
Tesla TSLA.O lost 3.3% after reportingthird-quarter vehicle deliveries below estimates.
Nike NKE.N slid 5.8% after withdrawing its annual revenue forecast just as a new CEO is set to take charge.
Both stocks weighed on the Consumer Discretionary sector .SPLRCD, which was at the bottom with a 0.5% loss.
Humana HUM.N tanked 17.7% after it said it expects the total number of members enrolled in its top-rated Medicare Advantage plans for those aged 65 and above to decrease for 2025.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.07-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 89 new lows.
Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai
Mga Kaugnay na Asset
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
