Stocks ended Tuesday on a mixed note even though economic data showed that job openings declined more than anticipated in the month of October 2023. This was an encouraging sign and hints that the US Federal Reserve’s efforts to slowdown the economy continue to bear fruit. As per the US jobs report, the number of job openings saw a decline to 8.7 million at October end, which was the lowest number since the month of March 2021, and that was the time when the US economy was impacted by the restrictions related to COVID-19 pandemic. The US jobs report showed that job openings saw a decline of over 600,000 as compared to September, which was the much larger drop than ~200,000 which economists thought.
Rate at which employees quit or they were laid off remained steady around pre-pandemic levels. This was seen for the 4th consecutive month. Amidst the mixed performance of the overall market, the Nasdaq went up by ~0.3%, mainly due to the tech mega caps. S&P 500 saw a decline of ~0.1%, with Dow Jones losing ~0.2%. Treasury yields saw a decline as 10-year yield slipped to below ~4.2%, the 3 month-low.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies saw a significant increase as Bitcoin rallied, touching its highest level in over a year and the half. Gold retreated from its all-time high touched Sunday evening.
Elsewhere in India, benchmark stock indices, Sensex and Nifty, were seen settling at fresh new peaks Tuesday, as the indexes rallied for 6th consecutive session. These gains were led by significant buying in power and utility sector. 30-share BSE Sensex climbed ~431.02 points, or 0.63%, to end at record high of ~69,296.14. Nifty50 saw an increase of ~168.50 points, or 0.81%, hitting the lifetime high of ~20,855.30.
Talking about the currency movements, rupee saw the recovery from the all-time low levels. INR settled up by ~1 paisa at 83.37 against the USD in restricted trade on Tuesday as traders reacted to the stronger American currency in global markets and unfavourable data about the services sector.
In a nutshell, the stock markets throughout the Asia-Pacific ended lower, as significant falls were seen in major indices. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index saw a decline of ~1.9%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by ~1.4%.
Moving to Australia, even though RBA decided to hold the interest rates, ASX 200 dropped by ~0.89% to end the session at ~7,061 levels.
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