Investing.com -- The S&P 500 closed lower Thursday, as bullish bets on stocks were cast aside by fresh economy worry following mixed employment data just a day ahead of the August nonfarm payrolls report.
At 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT), the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average had slipped by 219 points or 0.50%, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%.
Private payrolls miss expectations as focus now shifts to Friday's payrolls data
US private payrolls increased by less than anticipated in August, triggering worries about the health of the economy.
Private payrolls increased by 99,000 jobs in August, compared to a downwardly revised total of 111,000 in July, according to payrolls processor ADP (NASDAQ:ADP). It was the weakest month for the figure since January 2021.
Economists had called for a reading of 144,000, up from the original July mark of 122,000.
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits, meanwhile, came in at 227,000 in the week ending on August 31, a decrease of 5,000 from the prior week's revised level of 232,000. Forecasts had seen the number in line with last week's initial mark of 231,000.
The data, which comes ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report, has firmed up bets on bigger fed rate cuts.
"As a result of the confluence of disappointing data reports, investors are anticipating a growing possibility of a more aggressive monetary policy response, including a potential 50bps cut in September, now priced in at 45% with a total of 111bps in policy easing anticipated by year-end," Stifel said in a Thursday note.
Verizon agrees $20B deal to acquire Frontier, US Steel rebounds
Verizon (NYSE:VZ) closed marginally lower after agreeing to purchase Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FYBR) in a deal worth $20B.
The move is expected to help the telecoms giant grow its fiber network to compete against rivals including AT&T (NYSE:T).
US Steel (NYSE:X) rose more than 2%, paring some losses following major slump on Wednesday. The U.S. steel maker has been under pressure following reports that US President Joe Biden is set to block its proposed $14.9 billion takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel due to national security concerns.
Hewlett Packard Bell slumps on margin worries, Jetblue flies after lifting guidance; Tesla set to roll out sell driving tech in Europe, China
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) Bell fell 6% as its beat and Q4 raise was overshadowed by a dip in margins, pressured by the mix shift to servers.
JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ:JBLU) climbed more than 6% lifting its guidance for Q3, forecasting revenue to be in a range of negative 2.5% to up 1% from the same period a year earlier. That compared with a prior estimate for revenue to revenue to be down between 5.5% and 1.5%.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose more 4% after the EV maker said it would launch its advanced driver assistance in Europe and China in Q1 2025.
(Scott Kanowsky, Peter Nurse contributed to this report.)