Indexes little changed as investors await Friday’s payrolls

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks bounced off session lows and were near unchanged in afternoon trading on Thursday, as investors awaited Friday’s monthly jobs report and further possible clues on the outlook for interest rates.

U.S. data on initial claims for state unemployment benefits pointed to still-resilient labor market conditions, a day after a report showing U.S. private payrolls increased less than expected in September.

Friday’s monthly payrolls report was expected to be the week’s most important economic news, helping to determine whether the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer.

Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields eased. Earlier this week, they hit their highest since 2007.

Strategists noted that the was holding above its 200-day moving average, currently at around 4,206.

“It looks like we’re trying to hold here, and the reason is probably because yields have come down somewhat and maybe these comments by Mary Daly may have also helped a little bit,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said at the Economic Club of New York that with U.S. monetary policy “well into” restrictive territory and the recent rise in U.S. Treasury yields, the Fed may not need to raise rates any more.

The rose 0.17 points to 33,129.72, the S&P 500 lost 4.83 points, or 0.11%, to 4,258.92 and the dropped 16.68 points, or 0.13%, to 13,219.33.

Among stocks, Clorox (NYSE:) dropped as the cleaning products maker said it expects to post a first-quarter loss.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.22-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and 36 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 19 new highs and 282 new lows.