Stocks little changed in shortened session after weak economic data: live updates

JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic, who was chief global market strategist and co-head of global research, is leaving the bank to explore other opportunities, according to a source familiar with the internal announcement.

Kolanovic gained notoriety among market watchers for correctly predicting a stock market rebound amid the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he has been consistently bearish over the past two years as the market has recovered.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks can continue to gain after a strong first half of 2024, according to author and editor of “Paulsen Perspectives,” Jim Paulsen.

The S&P 500’s run to records was “narrow,” he said, with only a few stocks winning because the Federal Reserve raised rates, something rarely seen during bull markets.

“There are a lot of other things missing from the bull market that could happen if the Fed eases monetary policy, the biggest of which is of course lower bond yields and lower interest rates,” Paulsen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday. “If the Fed ends up declaring victory over inflation, which it will, and we cut rates, then I think we’re going to see a lot more stimulus in the stock market and we could have a move that looks a little bit like the beginning of a new bull market that we’ve never had.”

“This is the only bull market in postwar history that has existed entirely under a Federal Reserve that has tightened rates throughout its existence,” he continued. “The result has been a very narrow bull market because many of its supporting elements have not yet emerged.”

—Brian Evans

Stocks were little changed to start Wednesday’s shortened trading day.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both roughly flat shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The Dow was up about 0.1%.

—Alex Harring

Initial jobless claims increased slightly for the week ending June 29, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

First-time filings totaled 238,000 for the period, up 4,000 from the previous week and above the Dow Jones estimate of 233,000.

For continuing claims, which are a week behind, the total of 1.858 million represents an increase of 26,000 and is the highest total since November 27, 2021.

—Jeff Cox

Private sector payrolls rose by 150,000 in June, less than expected and the lowest total since January, according to an ADP report released Wednesday.

The total is below the Dow Jones forecast of 160,000 jobs and the upwardly revised 157,000 jobs in May. Leisure and hospitality led the way with 63,000 jobs, followed by construction and professional and business services.

Additionally, wage growth slowed to a pace of 4.9% from a year earlier, the smallest increase since August 2021.

—Jeff Cox

Here are the stocks that saw the biggest changes in pre-market trading:

Read the full list of moving actions here.

— Samantha Subin

The dollar index is about to end a four-week positive trend.

The index, which measures the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, has fallen about 0.2% since the start of the week. If that trend continues through the end of the week, it would be its first negative week in five weeks.

The dollar gained ground against the yen this week, but struggled against the euro and sterling.

—Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Tesla shares jumped more than 3% in premarket trading, putting the electric-vehicle maker on track for a seventh straight day of gains. That would be the stock’s longest winning streak since a 13-day run last year.

“The key for Tesla stock is for the stock market to recognize that Tesla is, in our view, the most undervalued AI company on the market, with a historic Robotaxi Day coming up for Musk and Tesla on August 8th, which will lay the yellow-brick path to FSD and an autonomous future,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note Tuesday. He gave the stock an Outperform rating.

—Fred Imbert

The consumer discretionary sector jumped 1.8% to close at its highest level since January 2022.

Tesla shares jumped 10.2%, helping the sector gain. The electric-vehicle maker surged as its second-quarter vehicle production and delivery reports beat analysts’ expectations.

E-commerce giant Amazon also contributed to the sector’s gains, rising 1.4% to a new all-time high.

The consumer discretionary sector was the best performer of the 11 S&P 500 sectors on Tuesday, propelling the broad market index to a record closing high of 5,509.01 and its first close above the 5,500 threshold.

—Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes

The news comes after National Amusements and Skydance called off deal talks in June.

Paramount declined to comment to CNBC. National Amusements and Skydance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Hakyung Kim, Rohan Goswami

The first half of the year was marked by a tech-driven stock market rally. But heading into the second half of the year, Goldman Sachs is predicting a turnaround for investors.

“As we enter the second half of the year, risks to shareholders are increasing,” wrote strategist Peter Oppenheimer. He also pointed to an uncertain backdrop, including high valuations and rising political risk.

However, Oppenheimer reassured investors by pointing to historical data indicating that a strong second half typically follows a strong first half.

“Nevertheless, it is worth stressing that it is unusual for second-half returns to be weak after such strong first-half returns as we have seen this year,” he wrote.

—Lisa Kailai Han