The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 400 points in early trading on Wednesday but pared some losses. The blue chip index was down nearly 1% at noon. The Nasdaq lost over 1% in the first hour and declined to nearly 2% midday while the S&P 500 dropped nearly 1.25%.
The Russell 2000 small-cap index declined as well, shedding more than 1.5%.
Yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note reclaimed the 3.7% level first reached in September.
Crude oil rose to $86.86 per barrel after OPEC+ decided to slash oil production by 2 million barrels a day, starting November. The move comes as an attempt to shore up recent declines in crude oil prices.
Volume on the NYSE and the Nasdaq was lower by double-digit percentages compared to the first half of Tuesday's session.
Private jobs increased by 208,000, below three-month and year-over-year averages, as per the September ADP Employment Change. August numbers were revised to 185,000. The trade, transportation and utilities group posted a solid gain of 147,000 jobs.
According to Peter Essele, head of portfolio management at Commonwealth Financial Network, Tuesday's JOLT numbers and the below-average increase in ADP employment points to a softening labor market.
The ISM Services report showed a shortage of skilled workers, increasing chances for strong employment data on Friday. Order backlog fell for the third month as supply chains continue to ease.
According to Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist at LPL Financial, markets will likely stay volatile even as today's numbers increase the chances of another 75 bps hike this year.
Outside Dow Jones: Monday Movers
Ford has slipped over 1% in morning action, despite an upgrade to overweight from Morgan Stanley.
Goldman Sachs is down nearly 3% after a downgrade to underweight from Atlantic Equities. The Dow Jones stock has a $290 price target. Atlantic also downgraded JP Morgan to neutral with an $85 price target. JPM has fallen over 2% in the first hour.
Bionano Genomics surged 13% on Tuesday after publishing a study on optical genome mapping for liver cancer diagnosis. Shares have added another 2.5% so far on Wednesday.
Health care stocks Signify Health and Molina Healthcare are in flat bases. Signify is just below its buy point of 29.98 while Molina is also nearing an entry point at 361.35.
Murphy Oil is also nearing an entry point at 41.60 in a cup-with-handle base while Denbury is in a buy zone with a buy point of 88.12.
ConocoPhilips broke out from its buy point of 115.57 in a cup-with-handle base.
The company has posted a solid growth record, with revenue growing over 100% in the most recent quarter. Its 98/98 Composite/Relative Strength Ratings are nearly ideal.
Vertex Pharmaceutical is in a flat base and 2% below its buy point of 300.74. Paylocity broke past its 50-day line in a flat base with a buy point of 276.98.
Dow Jones stocks Walmart, Merck[ticker symb=MRK] and Chevron surged past their 50-day lines on Tuesday. All three are testing that critical support level in today's action.
Market Rally Shows Resilience, Now Watch For This; Solar Stock Plunges
Tesla CEO Twitter Plans
Tesla CEO Elon Musk sees potential for Twitter as a mini-Internet and fintech service.
On Tuesday, news that Musk had agreed to acquire Twitter for the original $54.20 per-share asking price sent the social media giant skyrocketing. It is down less than 1% in so far on Wednesday while TSLA shares have fallen nearly 4%.
Earlier, UBS maintained its buy rating on Tesla, reiterating a $367 price target after the EV automaker delivered 343,830 vehicles, missing quarterly estimates of 364,000. However, production met views of 365,923 vehicles.
Elsewhere, recent IPO stock Rivian surged over 13% after confirming its 2o22 production target of 25,000 vehicles. Shares are paring gains on Wednesday, down over 3%.
Google's parent Alphabet will launch its Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro phones Thursday 10 am ET. The 'Made By Google' event will also feature the Pixel watch. Google shares are in a downtrend below their moving averages.
