NEW YORK: US stocks finished mainly lower Wednesday as investors took a breather from a two-day rally and booked profits ahead of this week’s keenly awaited official jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.30 points (0.26 per cent) to finish at 10,270.55, snapping two days of strong gains.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite reversed earlier losses to manage a gain of 0.85 point (0.04 per cent) at 2,190.91, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index retreated 6.04 points (0.55 per cent) to 1,097.28.
“Buyers have stepped to the sidelines since sending stocks nearly three per cent higher during the course of trade on Monday and Tuesday,” analysts at Briefing.com said in a client note.
Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said: “Traders may be booking some profits from the recent rally, treading cautiously ahead of Friday’s labor report.”
The market pause came ahead of the government’s latest monthly labor report due Friday.
The January numbers were expected show the unemployment rate held steady at 10 per cent, while the economy added 15,000 jobs, following a loss of 85,000 in December