U.S. Stocks Fall as Investors Await Friday's Jobs Report

By Liz Moyer 

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were falling on Thursday as investors awaited the jobs report for September.

At 11:02 ET (15:02 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 146 points or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.1%.

Jobless claims gave a glimpse of things to come. The labor market remains strong, but the number of people filing new unemployment claims rose more than expected last week. The Federal Reserve wants to cool the economy without sparking a big wave of unemployment.

But some investors have raised hope that the Fed’s aggressive interest rate moves could ease somewhat amid signs the economy is cooling.

Two Fed officials tried to quiet expectations for a so-called Fed "pivot" on Wednesday. Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic and San Francisco Fed chief Mary Daly warned not to expect a rate cut next year.

Data on Wednesday showed more hiring by private employers and an increase in service industry employment, strong labor signals that suggest the Fed will keep interest rates on the high side for longer than some in the market expect.

Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) shares inched up 0.3% after it announced plans to lay off another 500 workers.

Shell PLC ADR (NYSE:SHEL) stock fell 4% after the oil major said third quarter results would be dampened by lower profit from trading gas.

A day after major oil-producing nations agreed to cut production by two million barrels a day, oil prices were trading near three-week highs. Crude Oil WTI Futures was up 0.8% at $88.47 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures rose 0.7% to $94.12 a barrel.

Gold Futures fell 0.1% to $1719 an ounce.