Investing.com – U.S. stocks fluctuated on Tuesday as a drop in job openings to a three-year low pointed to weaker economic growth but also raised hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut this year.
At 15:08 ET (1908 GMT), the price was up 33 points, or 0.1%, down 0.1% and down 0.2%.
Job vacancies fall to three-year low
The April figure fell to a more than three-year low of 8.1 million, defying economists’ forecasts of a rise to 8.37 million.
Data pointing to a weakening labor market suggests the economic strength seen this year may be fading. With the Fed previously flagging a slowdown in the labor market as a condition for starting rate cuts, bets on a rate cut in September jumped to 55% from 44.9% last week, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor tool.
Treasury yields fell amid rising hopes of a rate cut this year, with the 10-year Treasyrt yield trading 6.6 basis points lower at 4.333%.
The latest jobs update comes ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report and the Federal Reserve meeting next week.
Intel unveils new AI chips, Tesla hurt by falling sales in China, Gamestop cools rally
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:) unveiled a slew of artificial intelligence chips a day after Nvidia (NASDAQ:) and AMD (NASDAQ:) made similar announcements as the chipmaker seeks to close a huge gap with its competitors. But some on Wall Street suggest that further upgrades from Intel will likely be required before it can meaningfully compete with its rivals.
“We continue to see limited activity from Intel on this front and believe that Intel’s success in artificial intelligence will likely have to wait on Falcon Shores and its progress on this front,” Wedbush said in a note Wednesday.
Tesla (NASDAQ:) shares traded below flat after sales of Chinese-made electric vehicles fell 6.6% to 72,573 in May from a year earlier, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association.
Guggenheim analyst Roland Evzikou, a Tesla supporter, said he believes Tesla shares will fall to $126 a share, suggesting nearly 30% downside potential from Tesla’s current price, citing concerns about falling sales.
Shares of GameStop (NYSE:) fell 3% in volatile trading, giving back some of the previous session’s sharp gains after stock influencer Keith Gill appeared to hold onto gains from his video game retail holdings following a sharp rise on Monday.
On the earnings side, Bath & Body Works Inc.’s weaker outlook. (NYSE:)’s second-quarter results eclipsed first-quarter results that beat expectations, sending the retailer’s shares down more than 13%.
Energy continues to fall as oil prices hit 4-month low
Energy stocks continue to come under pressure from falling oil prices after OPEC+ increases supplies later this year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to extend most oil production cuts through 2025 but left open the possibility of voluntary cuts by the eight members being phased out.
Halliburton Company (NYSE:), Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:) were among the biggest losers in the energy sector.
(Peter Nurse and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)