Stocks end mixed as job openings surge to record
JOLTS showed 9.3M job openings in April
SEC chair Gensler weighing potential crackdown on meme stock trading: Sources
Sources tell FOX Business' Charlie Gasparino that Gensler is worried easy-to-use trading platforms encourage the buying of risky stocks.
U.S. equity markets finished mixed Tuesday as the number of job openings in the U.S. hit a record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31 points, or 0.09%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.02% and 0.31%, respectively. The S&P 500's fraction gain ran the benchmark index to within 0.1% if its all-time high. The Dow and the Nasdaq, meanwhile, closed 0.5% and 1.5% below their own peaks.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 42114.3 | +319.70 | +0.76% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5768.76 | +56.07 | +0.98% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18408.254707 | +228.27 | +1.26% |
Tuesday's gains came as the Labor Department's Jobs Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed a record 9.3 million job openings in April. The report also said the quits rate touched a record high 2.7% while the layoffs and discharges rate hit an all-time low of 1%.
In stocks, Boeing Co. received an order for 34 additional 737 Max jets from Southwest Airlines Co. The order increases Southwest’s total orders for the aircraft to 234 for next year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 154.04 | -1.03 | -0.66% |
| LUV | SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. | 29.91 | -0.70 | -2.29% |
Meanwhile, Clover Health Investments Corp. was in focus as the company has become the latest target for Reddit traders, soaring 32% on Monday. Clover has joined AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and GameStop Corp. as so-called meme stocks.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLOV | CLOVER HEALTH INVESTMENTS | 4.27 | -0.06 | -1.39% |
| AMC | AMC ENTERTAINMENT | 4.35 | -0.16 | -3.55% |
| GME | GAMESTOP CORP. | 22.33 | -0.08 | -0.36% |
Elsewhere, Tesla Inc. sold 21,936 vehicles that were made at its Shanghai plant with 11,527 of those being exported outside of China.
Apple Inc. is in talks with China’s CATL and BYD about supplying the battery for its planned electric vehicle, Reuters reports, citing four people with knowledge of the matter.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 242.84 | -6.14 | -2.47% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 222.01 | -0.90 | -0.40% |
Gap Inc. shares rallied after rapper Kanye West's Yeezy Gap Line sold out of its debut item, a $200 blue puffer jacket, within minutes of becoming available. A Gap spokesperson told FOX Business that pre-orders for the jacket "will reopen soon."
In earnings, Stitch Fix Inc.’s quarterly loss narrowed and the company raised its sales outlook for both the current quarter and fiscal year as shoppers looked to refresh their wardrobes following months of lockdowns.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFIX | STITCH FIX INC. | 3.37 | +0.12 | +3.69% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rallied 82 cents to $70.05 per barrel, its highest since October 2018. Gold, meanwhile, slid $4.60 to $1,892.20 an ounce.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Overseas markets were mixed.
European bourses were mostly higher with Germany’s DAX 30 slipping 0.23% while France’s CAC 30 and Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.11% and 0.24%, respectively.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slipped 0.02%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.19% and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.54%.