Journal Record Index: Neutral jobs report prompts mixed close for markets

Job openings and a new jobs report gave Wall Street something to chew on as our trading session ended Dec. 6, 2024.

The Labor Department’s November jobs report revealed the addition of 227,000 jobs, versus the paltry 36,000 increase in October. The unemployment rate in November edged up to 4.2%, from October’s 4.1%.

Hourly wages rose 0.4% for the month, slightly higher than forecast by economists. Furthermore, the department upped its combined September and October readings by 56,000 jobs. The report was enough to hearten investors that the Fed may indeed lower interest rates again when it meets later this month.

Separately, the department said that applications for jobless benefits increased by 9,000 in the current reporting week, to 224,000. That is higher than the 214,000 forecast by economists, but the figure is still at a historically upbeat figure.

In another report from the Labor Department, the October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, increased to 7.7 million, from September’s 7.4 million. September’s figure was at a 3.5 year low. However, the current reading is down considerably from 8.7 million job openings posted a year ago.

“This [jobs report] tells the Fed that they still need to be careful as sticky housing/shelter/wage data shows that it won’t be easy to engineer meaningfully lower inflation from here in the nearer term,” said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The Journal Record Stock Index fell 96.50 points, or 3.30%, and closed at 2,825.76. Declining issues dominated advancing issues by a 15-to-4 count.

OneGas shed 5.35 points, or 6.86%. Research firm Ladenburg Thalmann cut its rating to “neutral” from “buy.” The firm has a price target of $75.50 on the stock. OGS ended at 72.62, and was the top dollar loser.

Paycom Software added 4.56 points, or 1.97%, and closed at 236.48. PAYC has an average rating of “hold” from the 12 brokerages that cover the stock. Eleven have a “hold” rating, and one a “buy.” The average price target is $193.67. PAYC was the top dollar gainer.

Vital Energy lost 3.50 points, or 10.66%. Investment bank JP Morgan upped its price target to $30, from $29. Their current rating is “underweight.” The firm expects the oil market to shift from balance this year to surplus in 2025. VTLE ended at 29.33, and was the top percentage loser.