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The S&P 500 gyrated on Thursday as concerns over Middle East tensions continued worrying investors in the run up to September’s payrolls report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average came off its lows of the morning, but still trailed Wednesday’s close by 146.58 points to stop for lunch Thursday at 42,049.94.
The much broader index let go of 1.44 points to 5,708.10
The NASDAQ Composite forged ahead 33.6 points to 17,958.72.
In corporate news, denim maker Levi Strauss plunged more than 7% after delivering mixed results for the fiscal third quarter. The company also announced that it’s considering a sale of its Dockers business, which is dragging down the overall business.
October trading is off to a rocky start as escalating tensions in the Middle East dampen investors’ enthusiasm. After stocks tumbled on Tuesday with Iran launching a missile attack on Israel, investors are now preparing for further uncertainty as Israel starts a ground operation into Lebanon.
The growing fears have also driven oil prices higher. U.S. crude futures rose more than 2%, bringing its week-to-date advance to more than 5%. Energy stocks have rallied in tandem, with the S&P 500 sector up about 4% on the week.
But the outperformance of tech and energy names aided the broader market in Thursday’s session, pushing the S&P 500 into the green at points. A gauge of the service sector showing its strongest reading in more than a year and a half also boosted confidence.
Despite that, the three major indexes are tracking for losses this week. That marks a turn after a strong three quarters, with Bespoke Investment Group finding 2024 had the biggest gain over the first nine months of a year since 1997.
Weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than economists polled by Dow Jones forecasted, according to data released Thursday. That offers hints into the health of the labour market as traders gear up for September’s closely watched payrolls report due on Friday morning.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 3.82% from Wednesday’s 3.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $2.83 at $73.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices revived 50 cents to $2,670.20 U.S. an ounce
