“`html
On Thursday, the S&P 500 Index closed down 1.12%, the Dow Jones fell 0.84%, and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.91%, all reaching two-week lows. Factors contributing to this decline included a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing a 175.3% year-over-year increase in job cuts, totaling 153,074, marking the highest October cuts in 22 years. This has pushed year-to-date job cuts to over 1 million, the most since the pandemic, while hiring plans are at their lowest since 2011.
December E-mini S&P futures fell 1.07% and December E-mini Nasdaq futures dropped 1.86%. Meanwhile, the 10-year T-note yield fell to 4.09%, hinting at a 69% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee meeting on December 9-10.
Concerns from the Federal Reserve leaders regarding ongoing inflation and government shutdown impacts on economic data have heightened market volatility. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee expressed uneasiness over the lack of inflation data during the ongoing government shutdown, while Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack noted a need for a mildly restrictive stance on monetary policy.
“`
