Tech Stocks Rallied and Treasury Yields Eased after Job Openings Dropped to 28-month Low

Barry Adams
29 Aug, 2023
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street advanced and tech stocks led gainers for the third day in a row. 

Market averages jumped up after 10-year Treasury yields fell sharply following the release of the JOLT report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The number of job openings declined by 338,000 from the previous month to 8.827 million in July, the lowest level since March 2021. 

The job openings declined for the third month in a row, indicating the job market is gradually cooling after the Federal Reserve lifted rates twelve times over the last sixteen months.  

Job openings increased in the West by 57,000 and in Northeast by 29,000 but fell in the South by 57,000 and in the Midwest by 69,000. 

The job market cooling tempered the yield on 10-year Treasury notes to 4.11% after soaring as high as 4.33% a week ago. 

Tech stocks advanced following the lower bond yields as the present value of the estimated future cash flow increased. 

 

U.S. Indexes & Yields 

The S&P 500 index traded up 0.7% to 4,462.73 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.0% to 13,843.77. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.91%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.14% and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.24%. 

West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent crude oil prices hovered near the levels last seen In April.  

Crude oil decreased $0.06 to $80.02 a barrel and natural gas prices increased 1 cent to $2.67 a thermal unit. 

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Best Buy Co Inc 5.6% to $78.28 after the electronics retailer reported fiscal second quarter results ahead of market expectations. 

The company also lowered its tightened its upper end of its full-year revenue outlook. 

Big Lots Inc soared 31% to $8.22 after the deep discount retailer reported smaller-than-expected loss. 

Big Lots said quarterly revenue rose to $1.14 billion and adjusted loss of earnings per share of $3.24. 

Heico Corp declined 1.2% to $165.91 after the company said its operating margin declined from a year ago but quarterly results were ahead of market expectations. 

Nio Inc declined 4.5% to $10.48 after the China-based electric vehicle maker reported a wider quarterly loss. 

3M Company 1.9% to $106.10 after the company agreed to settle lawsuits related to defective military earplugs for $6.01 billion. 

Cryptocurrency linked stocks advanced after a court ruled against the Securities and Exchange Commission in a suit related to spot bitcoin ETFs. 

Marathon Digital jumped 27.5%, Coinbase Global soared 14.5% and Riot Platforms jumped 16.5%.