US stocks were mixed on Wednesday, coming off a steep sell-off fueled by worries about economic growth.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell more than 0.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose about 0.1%.

Six sectors outperformed the S&P 500 on the day, with Consumer Staples (XLP) and Utilities (XLU) leading the market action.

As we noted earlier today, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released Wednesday showed job openings hit their lowest level since January 2021 during the month of July.

Economists reasoned this was the latest sign that workers are likely finding it increasingly hard to find new jobs.

And that was further confirmed within the details of the latest Fed Beige Book — a compilation of anecdotal evidence on the ground across the Fed’s regional districts — released on Wednesday afternoon.

"Employers were more selective with their hires and less likely to expand their workforces, citing concerns about demand and an uncertain economic outlook," the report read. "Accordingly, candidates faced increasing difficulties and longer times to secure a job. As competition for workers has eased and staff turnover has fallen, firms felt less pressure to increase wages and salaries."

Tech stocks have had a rough third quarter.

From the start of July, Information Technology (XLK) is the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 (^GSPC), falling more than 2% over that time. Real Estate (XLRE), Utilities (XLU), Industrials (XLI), and Financials (XLF) have been among the best performers in that period, all rising about 8% or more.

DataTrek Research co-founder Nicholas Colas noted that the rise in Real Estate and Utilities likely stems from a bet that interest rates are set to fall, while the bid in Financials and Industrials shows market participants leaning into cyclicals that could perform well if the economy continues to skirt recessions.

"Tech is the only group in the red for the quarter, which tells you pretty much all you need to know about the power of the ongoing rotation into more economically sensitive parts of the US equity market," Colas wrote in a note to clients.

Colas added the third quarter market action shows "markets still want to discount rate cuts and continued economic expansion."

And for those that were worried about the stock market rally being driven by a few large tech names, this recent rally back near a record high for the S&P 500 has shown significant signs of broadening.

Charles Schwab senior investment strategist Kevin Gordon highlighted on X Wednesday that through Tuesday's close, 71% of the members in the S&P 500 are outperforming the index on a rolling two-month basis. This is up from the end of June when just about 17% of companies were outperforming. It also marks the highest amount of companies outperforming the benchmark index since at least 1993.

Shares of United States Steel Corporation (X) fell more than 18% on Wednesday as the Washington Post reported President Joe Biden is preparing to announce he will formally block Nippon Steel’s (NPSCY) proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of the company.

The post cited three people with "knowledge of the matter" but noted a White House official declined to comment.

Verizon (VZ) stock took a quick leg lower, falling more than 2.5% on Wednesday afternoon, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the telecommunications giant is in "advanced talks" to buy Frontier Communications (FYBR).

The Wall Street Journal reported an announcement could come this week and help Verizon's efforts to compete with AT&T (T) in the fiber network space.

Job openings fell more than expected in July. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday showed there were 7.67 million jobs open at the end of July, a decrease from the 7.91 million seen in June. This marked the lowest number of job openings since January 2021.

Further signs of labor market cooling could be found in the details of the latest JOLTS report too. The ratio of unemployed workers to job openings fell to 1.07 in July, below the average seen in 2019 before the pandemic disrupted the labor market, and about in line with data from April 2018.

Renaissance Macro's head of economic research Neil Dutta wrote on X that the decline in the ratio is "yet another sign that labor demand has cooled, going a bit beyond where we were just before the pandemic."

Guy Berger, the director of economic research at the Burning Glass Institute, reasoned that in totality the JOLTS data showed "it's a tough time to find a job."

And from a markets perspective, Dutta said Wednesday's data is yet another example of why the Fed shouldn't be just looking at Friday's nonfarm payroll report for August when considering cutting interest rates.

"It is absurd to pin the next policy move on the [non-farm payroll] data when the trends in the jobs market are obvious," Dutta wrote in a note to clients. He added that even a positive reading of monthly job adds in this Friday's report could be revised lower later on, a nod to the recent massive downward revision seen for payroll additions for the 12 months ending in March 2024.

Dutta argued that the Fed not cutting by 50 basis points would be fine "until the next data point makes investors second guess the decision, fueling bets the Fed is behind the curve as a result."

"It is better to do more upfront to keep the conversation from happening in the first place!" Dutta wrote. "Go 50 [basis points] when you can, not when you must."

Gasoline prices have been on a downward trend as oil prices decline and gasoline futures (RB=F) approach three-year lows.

The national average at the pump on Wednesday sat near six-month lows at $3.32 per gallon, $0.49 less than exactly one year ago, according to AAA data.

"Combined with the end of the summer gasoline driving season in the USA along with a so far quiet hurricane season, oil prices simply collapsed, and that decline was led by weakness in gasoline," Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, the average retail price in nine states sat below $3 per gallon, with half the country likely touching those levels by the end of September as much of the country switches to a less expensive winter-grade gasoline later this month, Lipow predicted.

"There is a good possibility that the average national retail price of gasoline hits $3 per gallon by the end of the year," he added.

Oil fell 4% on Tuesday, erasing the commodity's year-to-date gains amid concerns over China's economy and additional supply expected from OPEC+ this fall. Over the summer the oil alliance indicated it would roll back some of its voluntary production cuts starting in October.

On Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) hovered below $70 per barrel, while Brent (BZ=F), the international benchmark, traded around $73 per barrel.

"The low prices ... may force OPEC+ to rethink its policy and it would not surprise me if they changed course and stuck with their existing production levels," wrote Lipow in a note to clients.

While the Federal Reserve has repeatedly mentioned it will bring inflation back down to its 2% target, central bank officials aren't saying that means interest cut can't come sooner.

Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger reports:

Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said Wednesday he believes the central bank cannot wait until inflation hits 2% to begin cutting interest rates — and that while the job market has weakened, it’s not “weak.”

“We must not maintain a restrictive policy stance for too long,” Bostic wrote in an essay ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting in two weeks. “I believe we cannot wait until inflation has actually fallen all the way to 2% to begin removing restriction because that would risk labor market disruptions that could inflict unnecessary pain and suffering.”

Bostic’s comments come ahead of the government jobs report due out Friday, which Fed officials are looking to for direction on the labor market. July’s jobs report clocked in weaker than expected and stirred fears in markets of a recession.

The Atlanta Fed president said the balance of risks has shifted, and he’s giving “basically equal attention” to the job market as he is inflation. And while the job market is cooling, he still views it as “stable.”

Bostic said that while the unemployment rate has ticked up to 4.3%, it’s just above the Fed’s long-run projection of 4.2%. He added that the 12-month moving average of jobs created is still a healthy 209,000 new jobs a month through July 2024. He also noted that while the hiring rate has fallen back to pre-pandemic levels, job openings, though down, remain above pandemic levels.

“I do not sense a looming crash or panic among business contacts,” Bostic wrote. “However, the data and our grassroots feedback describe an economy and labor market losing momentum.”

After opening lower to start the day, all three of the major indexes were higher just before 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) were both up 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.4%.

Nvidia (NVDA), which had been down as much as 3% after US regulators reportedly stepped up an antitrust probe, has now risen more than 1%.

The move higher in stocks as comes as investors are ramping up bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 50 basis points in September following a weaker-than-expected reading on job openings for July.

Markets are now pricing in a nearly 50% chance the Federal Reserve slashes interest rates by 50 basis points by the end of its September meeting, up from a 38% chance the day prior, per the CME FedWatch Tool.

Job openings fell more than expected in July as investors closely watch for signs of further cooling in the labor market as the Federal Reserve nears the start of its interest rate cutting cycle.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday showed there were 7.67 million jobs open at the end of July, a decrease from the 7.9 million seen in June. This marked the lowest number of job openings since January 2021.

June's figure was revised lower from the 8.18 million open jobs initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the report to show 8.1 million openings in June.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) also showed 5.5 million hires were made during the month, a slight uptick from June. The hiring rate ticked up to 3.5% in July, up from 3.3% in June.

US tech stocks extended losses on Wednesday morning, coming off a steep sell-off fueled by worries about economic growth and the AI trade amid a slide in Nvidia (NVDA) shares.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the losses, declining about 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added just less than 0.1%.

Information Technology (XLK), led by a more than 2% decline in Nvidia (NVDA), was the lone sector underperforming the S&P 500 on Wednesday morning, sliding more than 1%.