Oil Stocks Drop for a Second Day

Worries about slowing economy have hit crude prices
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 4, 2024 3:57 PM CDT
Stocks Hold Steady After Report on Cooling Job Market
The New York Stock Exchange, center, is shown on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.   (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

US stocks held relatively steady on Tuesday after a report suggested the job market is cooling.

  • The S&P 500 rose 7.94 points, or 0.2%, to 5,291.34
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.26 points, or 0.4%, to 38,711.29.
  • The Nasdaq composite rose 28.38 points, or 0.2%, to 16,857.05.
Treasury yields slid after the report showed US employers advertised fewer job openings at the end of April than economists expected, the AP reports.

Wall Street actually wants the job market and overall economy to slow. That could help get inflation under control and convince the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which would ease the pressure on financial markets. Traders upped their expectations for coming cuts to rates following the data report. Tuesday's report said the number of US job openings at the end of April dropped to the lowest level since 2021. The numbers suggest a return to "a normal job market" following years full of strange numbers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank.

But it also followed a report on Monday that showed US manufacturing contracted in May for the 18th time in 19 months. Worries about a slowing economy have hit the price of crude oil in particular this week, raising the possibility of less growth in demand for fuel. A barrel of US crude has dropped close to 5% this week and is roughly back to where it was four months ago. That sent oil-and-gas stocks to some of the market's worst losses for a second straight day. Halliburton dropped 2.5%, and Exxon Mobil fell 1.6%. Other companies whose profits tend to rise and fall with the cycle of the economy also fell to sharp losses, including steel makers and mining companies.

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Elsewhere on Wall Street, Bath & Body Works tumbled 12.9% despite topping expectations for revenue and profit in the latest quarter. Analysts called its forecast for results in the current quarter underwhelming. Designer Brands, the owner of Designer Shoe Warehouse store chain, dropped 20.4% after its first-quarter profit came in below analyst forecasts.

(More stock market stories.)

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