The stock market was down nearly 1% at midday Wednesday ahead of a vote on the debt ceiling. The technology sector wavered after a strong rally.
The Nasdaq composite, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were all down 0.8%. The Dow is on track for its 17th decline this month, the most down days in any month since May 2012, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Dow is down nearly 4% for May, lagging other major indexes.
Volume fell on the NYSE and Nasdaq compared with the same time on Tuesday. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF lost 1.3%, with Mobileye Global down 5% and new member Symbotic off 9%.
The price of U.S. crude oil fell again, down 1.1% to $68.75 a barrel. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF lost 1.5% and is testing 2023 lows. The Select Sector Consumer Discretionary SPDR and SPDR S&P Transportation ETF fell more than 2% at midday.
In economic news, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, came in at 10.103 million, a sign the labor market remains tight. The April number was well above the prior month's 9.745 million job openings and the Econoday consensus estimate of 9.350 million.
Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the report ended three straight months of decline, a sign that labor demand remains resilient.
"So far, we have seen some firms reduce their head count — particularly in tech — but the overall job market is still robust and is shoring up consumers — the biggest engine of economic growth," she noted. "While the Fed wants to see better balance in the job market, conditions are still tight."
Stock Market Watching Debt Ceiling Vote
In Congress, House leaders are pressing members of their parties to support a bill that keeps U.S. debt from default and makes spending cuts. The House votes on the measure later today, and indications were that there's enough lawmakers willing to pass it.
HP fell more than 5% after the computer hardware and printer maker missed sales expectations for the April-ended quarter. Sales fell 22% and EPS slid 26%, according to MarketSmith. The stock tried to break out of a flat base Tuesday but reversed below the 31.57 buy point.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the tech services provider, also missed revenue estimates and sold off 7% in midday trading.
Chip company Ambarella sold off 17.5% in huge volume, falling back below the 200-day moving average. Late Tuesday, the company edged past profit views but gave a disappointing outlook. The maker of computer vision chips cited "cyclical headwinds."
Stock Market Today: Techs Slowing Down
The technology rally of the past couple of weeks is ready for a pause, judging from the chart action of some tech leaders.
Just in the IBD 50, Monolithic Power Systems, Rambus and Axcelis Technologies made bearish reversals Tuesday. All three fell Wednesday morning.
Broadcom made the most dramatic reversal, closing 1.2% lower Tuesday after wiping out a 13% early gain.
Other leaders such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms, HubSpot and Entegris have reached their 20% profit targets.
But Twilio raced nearly 10% higher, adding some space above its 200-day moving average. Tech news website The Information reported that activist hedge fund Legion Partners has met with the company's management and is pressing for strategic changes.
Advance Auto Plunges 30%
It wasn't much better in the retail sector today, where auto parts chains were down.
Advance Auto Parts plunged more than 33% in the stock's worst-ever decline. Shares are at the lowest level since the March 2020 Covid bear market. The auto parts retailer missed profit views, cut its full-year guidance and slashed its dividend.
Chinese stocks were broadly lower after China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index contracted for a second straight month. The index fell to 48.8 in May, from 49.2 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The reading was below economists' forecasts.
The iShares MSCI China ETF fell 1.8%, extending a downtrend that began in April.
American Airlines reversed modestly lower at midday. The carrier raised its current-quarter profit outlook. American said strong demand and lower-than-expected fuel prices are aiding results.
