MARKET SNAPSHOT
U.S. stocks ended narrowly mixed. Treasury yields and the dollar rose as data showed layoffs falling in the U.S. Gold rose on signs of weakness in the U.S. job market, and oil rose on Russia-Ukraine concerns.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses Thursday. The DJIA fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.1%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%.
The recent shutdown stopped government statisticians from compiling the flagship nonfarm payrolls report for October, while the November edition has been delayed until after the Federal Reserve's Dec. 10 rate decision. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to cut its short-term target rate.
Shares in Dollar General gained, after the low-price retailer issued earnings and lifted its forecast for full-year sales growth. Kroger stock fell after the supermarket chain swung to a loss.
Asian markets closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei jumping 2.3%, driven by chip and industrial-robot makers.
In China, the ChiNext closed 1.0% higher, while Shenzhen and Shanghai each ended the day 0.1% lower.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index gained 0.3%.
In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 0.5%.
COMMODITIES
Oil futures rose as the war in Ukraine gave no signs of relenting, while markets expected the Fed to cut interest rates next week, supporting economic growth.
XS.com's Antonio Di Giacomo wrote that "a new cycle of rate cuts have strengthened the outlook for higher energy demand in 2025, while the weakness of the U.S. dollar makes crude imports cheaper for international buyers."
He added the lack of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks "reduces the likelihood that large volumes of Russian crude oil will return to the global market anytime soon."
Front-month WTI contracts closed up 1.2% at $59.67.
Gold futures closed higher, with investors continuing to digest an ADP report showing private sector employment shed 32,000 jobs in November versus the 40,000 gain economists surveyed by WSJ expected.
"The data reinforced expectations that interest rates will come down in December," said ADM Investor Services in a note. "Markets are also expecting a dovish tilt from the Fed in the longer term as Kevin Hassett is expected to become the next head of the Fed when Powell's term is over."
Wednesday's gold rally slowed, with front-month gold closing up 0.3% to $4,211.80 a troy ounce, while silver futures fell 1.9% to $56.847 a troy ounce.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
Jobless Claims Fell to New Recent Low Per Labor Department
Newly filed unemployment claims last week dropped to the lowest level in three years, the Labor Department said Thursday, a reassuring signal that the economy avoided a big surge of layoffs through the first 11 months of the year.
About 191,000 Americans filed for new unemployment benefits in the week through Nov. 29, a drop from 218,000 a week earlier and the fewest since September 2022. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had anticipated 220,000 new claims.
Continuing claims, which track with the total size of the unemployed population, were 1.94 million in the week through Nov. 22, down slightly from a week earlier. Those data lag the initial-claims numbers by a week. The continuing claims tally has gradually moved higher this year, a sign of slower hiring that has prolonged job searches.
Is anybody hiring? A weakening U.S. job market may push the Fed to cut rates again.
Condition red isn't flashing for the U.S. job market, but its vital signs have deteriorated ahead of a pivotal vote by the Federal Reserve on whether to reduce interest rates again.
A barrage of mostly negative news in the past week has convinced Wall Street investors that a third straight rate cut is on the way. The website FedWatch shows that 89% of investors believe the Fed will reduce borrowing costs again at its Dec. 9-10 meeting.
"It will be difficult to argue that the labor market shows sufficient signs of stability to justify a pause in December," said Matthew Martin, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.
Winners and Losers in a Fannie, Freddie IPO
President Trump and his appointees have spent months teasing a blockbuster stock offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could partially free the mortgage giants from government ownership and reap billions of dollars.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration is "well down the road on getting a deal done" in a CNBC interview Wednesday.
The challenge is determining how to structure such a complex transaction. It would likely involve the U.S. Treasury selling a portion of the stake it took in the firms in the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Meta Plans to Shift Spending Away From the Metaverse
Meta Platforms is planning cuts to the metaverse, an arena Mark Zuckerberg once called the future of the company.
The proposed changes are part of Meta's annual budget planning for 2026, and the company plans to shift spending from the metaverse to AI wearables, according to a person familiar with the matter. Several tech companies including Apple are working on wearable devices they believe might become the next major computing platform.
The decision marks a sharp departure from the vision Zuckerberg laid out in 2021, when he changed the name of his company to Meta Platforms, from Facebook, to reflect his belief in growth opportunities in the online digital realm known as the metaverse. Meta has seen operating losses of more than $77 billion since 2020 in its Reality Labs division, which includes its metaverse work.
HPE Says Customers' AI Delays Weighing on Sales
Hewlett Packard Enterprises is trying to take on more big customers, but the complexity of those customers' ambitious artificial-intelligence projects is weighing on sales.
The server and cloud-software company logged lower-than-expected revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter because customers are hitting delays in the development of their AI products, Chief Financial Officer Marie Myers said. During the quarter, some of the larger-scale customers HPE has been trying to add to its portfolio weren't ready to receive and pay for the company's products on time.
"You'll see a lot more of that with AI. It tends to be a lot more lumpy, " Myers said.
Ulta Beauty Boosts Fiscal-Year Guidance as Third-Quarter Sales Climb
Ulta Beauty bumped up its fiscal-year guidance after sales climbed in its latest quarter, boosted by growth across all categories and channels.
The cosmetics and fragrances retailer said Thursday it now forecasts fiscal-year earnings per share of $25.20 to $25.50, from a prior projection of $23.85 to $24.30.
The company now expects sales of $12.3 billion for the year, compared with $12 billion to $12.1 billion previously.
Paramount Raises Concerns About Netflix's Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
The fight for the future of Warner Bros. Discovery is getting messy.
Paramount took aim at rival Netflix's bid in a Monday letter to Warner Discovery's lawyers, saying a sale to Netflix would likely "never close" due to regulatory challenges here and abroad, given its global dominance.
Paramount has been arguing that it offers the cleanest regulatory path to closing compared with Netflix and Comcast, the other two suitors who submitted second round bids Monday.
Kroger Swings to Quarterly Loss as Expenses Increase
Kroger swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss as expenses increased, though the company said it continues to make progress on its strategic priorities by improving the customer experience and building a foundation for long-term growth.
The Cincinnati supermarket chain on Thursday posted a loss of $1.32 billion, or $2.02 a share, in its third quarter ended Nov. 8. That compares with a profit of $618 million, or 85 cents a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time costs, Kroger notched earnings of $1.05 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of $1.03 a share.
Dollar General Lifts Outlook on Growing Demand
Dollar General said its lower-income customers are feeling increasingly stressed, as they are making more frequent shopping trips and buying fewer items per visit.
Despite some incremental pressures, though, consumers continue to spend on everyday items such as food and household supplies, as well as seasonal products, home decor and apparel. That resilience helped boost the discount retailer's profit and sales during the third quarter and prompted the company to raise its full-year outlook.
Shares were recently up 10%, to $120.76, on pace for their highest close since August 2024 and extending their more than 50% gain over the past year.
Expected Major Events for Friday
01:00/PHI: Nov CPI
05:00/SIN: Oct Retail Sales
05:00/JPN: Oct Indexes of Business Conditions - Preliminary Release
05:30/AUS: Nov Official Reserve Assets
07:00/MAL: Nov International Reserves, end of month
08:00/TAI: Nov Price Indexes: Consumer Prices (CPI)
08:20/TAI: Nov International Reserves
08:30/HK: Nov Foreign Exchange Reserves
09:59/PHI: Nov Gross International Reserves
10:59/INA: Nov International Reserves
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 04, 2025 17:02 ET (22:02 GMT)
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