The three major stock indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed mixed. This was interpreted as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that negotiations with China are "not easy," which weakened expectations for a U.S.-China agreement, along with the deterioration of U.S. economic indicators.
On the 4th (Eastern Daylight Time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 91.90 points (0.22%) at 42,427.74, the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 0.44 points (0.01%) to close at 5,970.81, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index finished up 61.53 points (0.32%) at 19,460.49.
Earlier, Trump mentioned on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Xi Jinping is "very difficult and extremely hard to negotiate with," which weakened sentiment regarding U.S.-China negotiations.
The private employment and services sector indicators released on that day also fell below expectations, adding downward pressure.
According to the ADP National Employment Report, private employment in May increased by 37,000 compared to the previous month, marking the lowest level since March 2023. This figure is far below the market expectation of 115,000.
This has also raised concerns about U.S. non-farm employment in May. The ADP private employment report serves as a benchmark for anticipating labor department statistics on non-farm employment.
Mike Dixon, a strategist at Horizon Investments, said, "In the short term, the market seems to have entered a slight range-bound phase."
The U.S. service sector has also entered a contraction phase for the first time in nearly a year, showing signs of slowdown.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced that the service sector Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May recorded 49.9. This figure fell short of the expected 52 and worsened compared to April's 51.6.
As U.S. economic indicators showed signs of slowdown, U.S. government bond yields generally fell sharply. This is due to predictions that the timing for the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts could accelerate.
By sector, energy and utilities fell by nearly 2%, while communication services rose by over 1%.
Amid mixed results for large technology companies, Meta Platforms rose by more than 3%, while Tesla dropped by over 3%.
Netflix also rose 1.78% that day, setting a new all-time high.