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Stocks were relatively unchanged on Thursday as investors grow more confident in a December interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrials backed off 44.71 points to pause midday Thursday at 47,838.19.
The S&P 500 Index recovered 6.88 points to 6,856.60.
The NASDAQ regained 54.24 points to 23,508.33.
Investors focused on a report from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing announced job cuts in November from U.S. employers moved further ahead of one million for the year as corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence and tariffs helped pare job rolls.
On Wednesday, numbers from ADP revealed a surprising slump in private payrolls.
Mounting signs that the labor market is softening has led Wall Street to be convinced the Fed will cut rates a quarter percentage point at its Dec. 10 meeting, the last of the year.
Markets are pricing in an 89% chance of a cut next Wednesday, far higher than just a couple weeks ago,
On Thursday, investors largely overlooked the latest weekly jobless claims numbers that showed new applications for unemployment insurance at their lowest level since Sept. 2022.
Jobless claims for the week ending Nov. 29 totaled a seasonally adjusted 191,000, down 27,000 from the prior period and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 220,000.
Salesforce, a member of the Dow, edged higher after the software company offered a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast.
The 10-year Treasury weakened, raising yields to 4.10% from Wednesday’s 4.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 95 cents to $59.90.
Gold prices grew $12.40 to $4,244.70.
