S&P 500 falls for a third straight session as jobs data raises economic concerns

The S&P 500 posted its third consecutive decline on Tuesday as investors assessed the delayed release of November’s U.S. jobs report.

The benchmark index slipped 0.24% to close at 6,800.26. The Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend, rising 0.23% to finish at 23,111.46, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 302.30 points, or 0.62%, to end at 48,114.26.

Oil prices came under sharp pressure, with U.S. crude dropping to its lowest level since early 2021. The energy sector followed suit, as shares of major producers Exxon Mobil and Chevron fell about 2% each. ConocoPhillips and Marathon Petroleum also closed in negative territory.

Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs in November, exceeding the Dow Jones estimate of 45,000. However, October payrolls were revised sharply lower, showing a loss of 105,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also edged up to 4.6%, slightly above expectations, adding to concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.

Market expectations for Federal Reserve policy remained largely unchanged. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders continue to assign a 24% probability of a rate cut in January, little changed from the previous session.

Tuesday marked another down day for both the S&P 500 and the Dow, following losses driven by weakness in major artificial intelligence stocks. Shares of Broadcom, Oracle and Microsoft declined as investors took profits in high-growth AI names and rotated into more defensive sectors such as health care and utilities.