NEW YORK – U.S. stock markets ended the day with modest declines on Wednesday amidst fluctuating trade, triggered by recent labor market reports and remarks from a Federal Reserve official hinting at possible interest rate cuts.

Data from the Labor Department revealed a drop in U.S. job openings to a three-and-a-half-year low in July, signaling a reduction in labor market restrictions, which may encourage the Fed to consider lowering rates in their upcoming meeting later this month.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq witnessed slight declines, while the Dow Jones managed a small gain. Stocks in the utilities and consumer staples sectors performed well, whereas energy and technology stocks were significant decliners. Out of the 11 sectors in the S&P 500, six closed lower.

“September is often a volatile month, but the economy remains stable,” commented Bill Strazzullo, chief markets strategist at Bell Curve Trading in Boston. “Consumers are doing well, and the labor market appears strong. Overall, I’m still optimistic.”

Nvidia’s shares fell by 1.7% following a staggering $279 billion loss in market value the previous day. Near the end of the trading session, the company rejected claims from the media alleging it was subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Other major growth stocks also declined, with Apple down 0.9%, Microsoft dipping 0.1%, Alphabet decreasing by 0.5%, and Amazon.com falling by 1.7%. Conversely, Tesla’s stock rose by 4.2%.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic stated on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve should not maintain high interest rates for much longer, as it could adversely affect employment. He emphasized that waiting for inflation to return to the Fed’s 2% target before considering rate cuts could lead to disruptions in the labor market, resulting in unnecessary distress.

In the previous trading session, all three major Wall Street indices experienced their most significant loss since early August as investors pulled back from tech stocks, marking a challenging start to September, which is typically considered the worst month for stock performance.

“Utility stocks have risen today due to disappointing job data, reinforcing the argument for the Fed to consider cutting rates by at least 25 basis points in their upcoming meeting,” noted Eric Beyrich, co-chief investment officer at Sound Income Strategies.

Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 38.04 points, or 0.09%, to 40,974.97. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 decreased by 8.86 points, or 0.16%, to 5,520.07, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 52 points, or 0.30%, to 17,084.30.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index bounced back from a significant drop the previous day, gaining 0.25% today.

Advanced Micro Devices saw a nearly 3% increase after appointing former Nvidia executive Keith Strier as its senior vice president for global AI markets.

In contrast, Zscaler shares plummeted nearly 19% after the company projected its fiscal 2025 revenue and profit to fall short of estimates. Dollar Tree shares fell 22% after the discount retailer revised its annual sales and profit forecasts downward.

About 10.5 billion shares changed hands across U.S. exchanges today, a decrease from the 20-day moving average of nearly 11 billion shares.

Reported by Chibuike Oguh in New York; additional reporting by Johann M Cherian, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru. Edited by Matthew Lewis.