Investing.com – Wall Street traded lower in a session where all eyes were on oil and data revealed a firming labor market ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls, while financial markets reduced expectations for a summer rate hike from the Federal Reserve (Fed).
At 16:19GMT or 12:19ET, the Dow 30 lost 24 points, or 0.14%, the S&P 500 fell 4 points, or 0.20%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite traded down 10 points, or 0.20%.
Oil was the star of Thursday’s session as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) gathered for their biannual ordinary meeting in Vienna.
Not surprisingly, the oil cartel made no policy changes and came to no agreement to place a ceiling on oil production. However, crude initially hit intraday lows on reports that members planned to take no action.
However, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Thursday that crude oil inventories fell by 1.366 million barrels, contradicting the prior day’s report from American Petroleum Institute’s that saw a 2.35 million barrel build. Also of note, both gasoline inventories and distillate stockpiles fell much more than expected.
The data caused oil prices to turn around and U.S. crude futures gained 0.47% to $49.24 by 16:22GMT, or 12:22ET, while Brent oil traded up 0.84% to $50.14.
On the economic front, both ADP jobs report for May and weekly jobless claims data came out essentially in line with expectations and showed a firming labor market that could tilt the Fed closer to an eventual tightening of monetary policy.
These last bits of data come before the Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
Still, financial markets slightly decreased expectations of a summer rate hike with bets for a June increase slipping to 19% and odds for July to 59%.
Fed governors Daniel Tarullo and Jerome Powell spoke on the need to increase bank capital requirements for the U.S. central bank’s stress tests and avoided speaking on monetary policy.
Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan was scheduled for a moderated Q&A at 17:00GMT, or 13:00ET.
In company news, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced plans to buy Vogue International for $3.3 billion.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) led the decliners on the Dow with losses of more than 1% after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation to neutral from buy stating the stock was overvalued compared to peers.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) fell almost 5% after the firm was sued for firing an employee, allegedly for complaining about inappropriate accounting practices.
In earnings, Joy Global Inc (NYSE:JOY) jumped 12% on better-than-expected quarterly profit, while Box Inc (NYSE:BOX) tumbled nearly 10% on disappointing billings.