U.S. stocks wobbled after feeling both the upside and downside of a surprisingly strong report on the U.S. job market.
After initially rising toward its all-time high on Wednesday, the S&P 500 flipped between gains and losses before finishing with a minuscule drop of less than 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%.
Treasury yields remained higher in the bond market. The upside of the stronger-than-expected data for stocks is that it could drive continued growth in profits for companies. The downside is that it could discourage the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates.
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 fell 0.34 points, or less than 0.1%, to 6,941.47.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.74 points, or 0.1%, to 50,121.40.
The Nasdaq composite fell 36.01 points, or 0.2%, to 23,066.47.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 10.30 points, or 0.4%, to 2,669.47.