Stocks closed mixed Tuesday to kick off August, with only the Dow booking a modest advance among the three major indexes in lackluster trade that followed a blockbuster seven months of equity gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
rose about 71 points, or 0.2%, ending near 35,630, according to preliminary FactSet data. That saw the Dow book a third session in a row of gains, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
shed 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
fell 0.4%. Stocks appeared to be taking a breather after roaring higher in the first seven months of 2023, with both the Dow and S&P 500 less than 5% off record territory touched in early 2022. Investors were focused on jobs data due Thursday and a key monthly reading on the labor market Friday. A strong labor market has been credited with helping keep the U.S. economy out of a recession, which until recent months felt nearly unavoidable as the Federal Reserve continued to quickly jack up rates. On the flip side, strong wage gains continue to fuel consumption by households and have kept upward pressure on prices and the Fed’s short-term rates, which in July touched the highest level in 22 years. A heated labor market potentially will mean even more Fed hikes to come, which could eventually derail the economy, hurt corporate profits and pull stocks lower. Investors also will be keeping an eye on a “tsunami” of Treasury issuance expected through year end, and if it potentially might shake up financial markets. The 10-year Treasury yield
TMUBMUSD10Y,
was around 4.03% on Tuesday.
