US stocks slip in choppy trading after weaker jobs data

U.S. stock indexes inched lower on Tuesday after labor market data compounded worries about growing weakness in the economy, while profit-taking in some of Wall Street‘s most popular stocks added to the losses.

Indexes slipped after a Labor Department report showed job openings were down to 8.05 million in April, lower than an expectation of 8.35 million, ahead of the closely watched nonfarm payrolls figures for May, due on Friday.

The data was the latest in a string of recent reports that have increased concerns about a slowdown in the world’s largest economy, leading markets to expect an earlier start to interest-rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The yields on Treasury bonds slipped following the report. Expectations for a September rate reduction now stand around 65%, versus below 50% last week, according to the CME‘s FedWatch tool.

“The evidence is accumulating that the Fed should begin easing… fewer workers are quitting each month, clearly signaling fewer opportunities to earn higher wages by switching jobs,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard.However, indexes remained in the red despite the change in rate-cut expectations, with some market participants citing profit-taking in megacap tech and chip stocks, which have been the primary drivers of recent Wall Street rallies.Stocks such as Amazon.com, Meta and Microsoft were among the biggest drags on the S&P 500, down between 0.1% and 0.6%. Semiconductor stocks lost 1.4%.”The absence of corporate news suggests a sideways trending market, which seems to be where we are right now. Strong year-to-date returns are a reason for some near-term profit-taking, and certainly some portfolio rebalancing,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Separately, the Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods rose 0.7% in April, higher than economists’ expectation of a 0.6% increase.

Oil companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron dropped 2.3% and 1.5%, respectively, as demand concerns weighed on crude prices. Energy stocks led S&P 500 sectoral declines with 1.5% fall.

Small-cap stocks, typically more sensitive to economic expectations, declined 1.2%, while the rate-sensitive real estate sector gained 0.9%.

At 12:10 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 69.26 points, or 0.18%, at 38,501.77, the S&P 500 was down 24.42 points, or 0.46%, at 5,258.98, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 74.65 points, or 0.44%, at 16,754.02.

Among others, Bath & Body Works slumped 14% after a lower revision to its quarterly profit forecast.

Axos Financial plunged 7.3% after Hindenburg Research disclosed a short position in the lender.

Paramount Global lost 4.1% after the streaming firm said it was exploring strategic options or a joint venture for the Paramount+ streaming service.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 25 new highs and 92 new lows.