S&P 500, Dow end lower ahead of key jobs data
Tesla gains on plans to launch full self-driving in Europe, China
Frontier Communications falls following Verizon acquisition deal
JetBlue jumps after Q3 revenue forecast
Adds preliminary closing details
By Chibuike Oguh
NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) -The benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow ended lower in choppy trading on Thursday after a short-lived boost from a string of economic reports faded and investors eyed key jobs data due on Friday. The Nasdaq finished slightly higher.
Markets were edgy ahead of the release of the comprehensive nonfarm payrolls data - which will likely set the stage for the Federal Reserve to begin cutting rates later this month.
Earlier in the session, Wall Street's main indexes gained as reports helped allay concerns of labor market deterioration. The Institute for Supply Management survey showed services sector activity expanded in August while jobless claims declined last week, according to Labor Department data.
"The markets have been on this risk-on risk-off roller coaster because it's watching the data as the Fed has said 'we're going to watch the data,'" said Wasif Latif, president and chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners in Princeton, New Jersey.
"The market is watching the data to get a sense of what the economy is looking like in terms of the landing scenario and what that means for interest rate policy from the Fed."
September has been historically weak for U.S. equities, with the S&P 500 down about 1.2% for the month on average since 1928. The index is down more than 2% so far this week and tech stocks .SPLRCT have fallen over 4%.
In August, U.S. private employers hired the fewest workers since January 2021 and data for the prior month was revised lower, potentially hinting at a sharp labor market slowdown, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
"The market wants some softness in the data, but it's like a narrow pathway because the equity market in our view is priced for a soft landing or a no landing scenario whereas the bond market, given the rate cut expectations, is bit more priced for a recession," Latif added.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 16.39 points, or 0.30%, to end at 5,503.68 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 42.15 points, or 0.25%, to 17,126.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 222.05 points, or 0.54%, to 40,752.92.
Tesla TSLA.O gained after the electric-vehicle maker said it will launch its full self-driving advanced driver assistance software in the first quarter next year in Europe and China, pending regulatory approval.
Frontier Communications FYBR.O fell sharplyafter Verizon VZ.N said it would buy the company in an all-cash deal worth $20 billion. Verizon shares dropped.
JetBlue Airways JBLU.O jumped after the carrier raised its third-quarter revenue forecast.
US IT sector as a share of S&P500 market cap https://tmsnrt.rs/4dWCttO
Gap between Fed policy rate and 2-year Treasury yield widest since 1981 https://tmsnrt.rs/47mr04c
Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis
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