Already earlier in the week, various labor market reports have created alternating joy and despair among traders on Wall Street.
On Friday, it will be announced how many new jobs were created in the US economy in December. A higher number speaks for continued economic momentum in the country – and a lower chance of new interest rate cuts from the Fed – while a lower number speaks for the opposite.
In anticipation of the figures, heavy market players who are craving more cuts have been afflicted with some anxiety and reduced risk appetite.
Furthermore, the released protocol from the meeting of the Fed's monetary policy committee on December 17-18 showed that many members want to slow down the pace of cuts.
This is due to, among other things, continued stubborn inflation and concerns that the incoming president Donald Trump's economic policy will fuel it further.
Wednesday's trading in New York swung up and down. When the protocol was released, the stock market generally fell back, but then turned upwards again.
The broad S&P 500 index closed at plus 0.2 percent, Nasdaq's technology-heavy composite index fell 0.1 percent, and the Dow Jones industrial index rose 0.3 percent.
