US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors digested fresh jobs data and new Fedspeak regarding the path forward for interest rates.
The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) each claimed new records after finishing the session up about 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) recovered from session lows but still closed down nearly 0.2%.
Job openings in October rose by 372,000 to 7.74 million compared to estimates of 7.52 million, according to BLS data released on Tuesday .
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed fewer hires were made during the month while the quits rate, a sign of confidence among workers, rose to 2.1% from 1.9% in September.
The JOLTS data serves as the first in a wave of key signals this week that culminates in Friday's all-important monthly US payrolls report.
Also on Tuesday, policymakers Mary Daly, Austan Goolsbee, and Adriana Kugler suggested rates will continue to fall as the central bank brings policy closer "to a more neutral setting." Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Wednesday.
Treasury yields rose following the comments with the yield on the 10-year note ( ^TNX ) inching up about 3 basis points to trade near 4.22%.
Traders are now pricing in about a 72% chance that the Fed lowers rates by a quarter percentage point at its Dec. 18 meeting, compared with 62% a day ago, per the CME FedWatch tool .
Meanwhile, shares in US Steel ( X ) fell about 8% on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump's promise to "block" its $15 billion takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel ( 5401.T , NPSCY ). Trump said tax incentives and tariffs will enable the American steel giant to thrive on its own.
