Stocks struggled for direction Wednesday as investors digested a dreary update on the labor market. This comes ahead of the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where Fed Chair Powell will deliver a keynote address on Friday morning.
Amid a relatively light economic calendar, preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the U.S. added 818,000 fewer jobs than previously expected in the 12 months ending March 2024. This means the U.S. gained an average of 173,000 jobs per month over that time frame vs the previous estimate of 242,000.
