U.S. stocks ended little changed on Wednesday in a session they struggled for a clear direction, as investors digested the impact of two conflicting sets of jobs data and a report that said President-elect Donald Trump was mulling a national economic emergency declaration on inflation. The TSX closed modestly higher.
Market sentiment was fragile after a CNN report said Trump was mulling building the new tariff program by using the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which authorizes a president to manage imports during a national emergency.
Ahead of Trump taking office later in the month, concerns about potential surcharges on U.S. trade partners have kept investors on edge as Trump’s policies, including mass deportations and tariffs, could stoke inflation pressures.
“There is quite a bit of caution in the markets with all the policy uncertainty that we’re facing,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. “Incoming President Trump is quite serious about imposing tariffs on Canada in a meaningful fashion and that’s clearly a negative for the Canadian economy and could weigh pretty heavily on the TSX.”
Benchmark U.S. 10-year yields peaked at 4.73%, the highest since April 25, to retreat slightly to 4.677% later in the afternoon.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 17-18 meeting showed on Wednesday that officials saw a rising risk that price pressures may remain sticky as policymakers began wrestling with the impact of policies expected from the incoming Trump administration.
Investors also assessed an ADP National Employment Report that showed U.S. private payrolls growth slowed sharply in December, although a separate Labor Department report said jobless claims for the previous week fell.
On Friday, both the U.S. and Canada report monthly job figures for December.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Wednesday that inflation should continue falling in 2025 and allow the central bank to further reduce interest rates, though at an uncertain pace.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 106.84 points, or 0.25%, to 42,635.20, the S&P 500 gained 9.20 points, or 0.16%, to 5,918.23 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 10.80 points, or 0.06%, to 19,478.88.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended up 121.79 points, or 0.5%, at 25,051.68, after two straight days of declines.
The Toronto market’s technology sector rose 1.8%, clawing back some of the previous day’s sharp decline. Gains were led by electronics firm Celestica Inc, which ended 4.6% higher.
The materials group added 1.7% as gold and copper prices rose.
Shares of gold producer K92 Mining jumped nearly 16% after the company reported record quarterly production.
Heavily weighed financials added 0.6%, while energy ended near flat as oil settled 1.25% lower at US$73.32 a barrel, giving back some of its recent gains.
U.S. crude oil imports from Canada rose last week to the highest on record, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed, ahead of expected trade tariffs.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors posted gains, led by the healthcare index up 0.53%.
The Russell 200 Index tracking U.S.-focused small-cap companies dropped 0.52%.
Megacaps were mixed with Microsoft up 0.52%, while Alphabet and Meta fell 0.79% and 1.16%, respectively.
EBay rose 9.86% after Meta Platforms said it will launch a test showing the e-commerce firm’s listings on Facebook Marketplace.
Edison International dropped 10.18%. Its Californian subsidiary cut power to customers to prevent damage to distribution lines from a wildfire.
Quantum-computing stocks Rigetti Computing and IonQ plunged over 40%, while Quantum Computing was down 39% after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said computers based on the emerging technology are as much as 30 years away.
U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for a national day of mourning to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 4 new 52-week highs and 29 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 116 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 15.86 billion shares, compared with the 12.29 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Reuters, Globe staff