US stocks were lower on Thursday as investors awaited Friday’s big jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 248.33 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 44,765.71. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.18 per cent to end at 19,700.26. The S&P 500 dropped 0.19 per cent, settling at 6,075.11.
Traders on Thursday focused on the key U.S. employment data set for release on Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones predict the US economy added 214,000 jobs in November.
This labor report could influence the Federal Reserve’s rate decision at its policy meeting later this month. On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the U.S. economy is strong enough for the central bank to proceed cautiously with rate cuts.
Bitcoin traded slightly lower, falling below $100,000 after briefly surpassing that mark late Wednesday. This move temporarily boosted crypto-related stocks like MicroStrategy and Coinbase. However, these stocks later gave up their gains, with MicroStrategy down 4.8 per cent and Coinbase losing 3.1 per cent.
Turning to commodities, oil prices dipped after the OPEC+ decision to delay planned output increases until April.
Looking at the local market, the SPI futures are pointing to 0.2 per cent fall.
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