The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Thursday as market participants anxiously awaited November's jobs report due out Friday morning for more clues on the pace of the Federal Reserve's next moves. The S&P 500 also dipped slightly, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.1%.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Making headlines Thursday, Salesforce
Costco
On the economic front, the Commerce Department's core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.2% in October on the month and 5% annually, coming mostly in-line with consensus estimates. October's gains also represent a declaration from September, which saw a monthly increase of 0.5% and an annual gain of 5.2%.
Initial filings for unemployment insurance remained near historic lows for the week ended Nov. 26, totaling 225,000, according to the Labor Department. The print was a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised total.
Thursday's moves followed a previous session rally, as investors were encouraged by Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaling that the central bank is prepared to start slowing the pace of its interest rate hikes as soon as December. The S&P 500 rose over 3%, while the Dow added more than 700 points to exit a bear market and the Nasdaq soared over 4%.
"It makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down," Powell said, speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. "The time for moderation the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting."
Looking ahead, economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. added 200,000 private payrolls in November, which would mark a slight decrease from October's 261,000 increase.