Equities Mixed as Markets Evaluate Fed Officials' Comments; Alphabet Jumps

02:09 PM EDT, 09/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were mixed intraday, with the S&P 500 buoyed by a surge in Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares, while markets parsed remarks by Federal Reserve officials.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1% at 21,493.3 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 6,436.8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 45,111.4. Among sectors, communication services led the gainers with a 3.6% jump, while energy saw the biggest drop.

In company news, Alphabet's class A and C shares were up 9% each, the top gainers on the S&P 500.

A federal court judge ruled late Tuesday that the technology giant's Google (GOOG) unit will not be required to divest its Chrome web browser over competition concerns, and can continue making preload product payments to its distribution partners.

Macy's (M) raised its full-year outlook on Wednesday as the department store operator reported fiscal second-quarter results above market expectations. The company's shares were up nearly 18% intraday.

Dollar Tree (DLTR) was the worst performer on the S&P 500, down 7.8%, after the discount retailer provided an earnings outlook below market estimates for the ongoing three-month period.

Salesforce (CRM) , Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and GitLab (GTLB) are scheduled to report after the closing bell Wednesday.

US Treasury yields were lower intraday, with the 10-year rate falling 7.4 basis points to 4.20% and two-year rate losing 5.2 basis points to 3.61%.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said Wednesday that inflation is expected to begin converging toward policymakers' 2% target in the second half of 2026, though there's "a reasonable possibility" of more persistent price pressures as uncertainty around tariffs remain.

The central bank should lower its benchmark lending rate later this month amid risks to the labor market, CNBC reported, citing Fed Governor Christopher Waller.

"When the labor market turns bad, it turns bad fast. ... So for me, I think we need to start cutting rates at the next meeting," Waller reportedly said. "I would say over the next three or six months, we could see multiple cuts coming in."

Separately, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic backed a 25 basis-point rate cut "over the remainder of this year," citing a slowdown in the labor market.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 2.5% at $63.98 a barrel intraday.

In economic news, US job openings fell to about 7.18 million as of the last day of July from 7.36 million the month before, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The consensus was for a 7.38 million level in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"The July JOLTS report showed further signs of softening labor market conditions," Oxford Economics said. "The August employment report will be more pivotal than the JOLTS data in determining whether the Fed cuts rates at its upcoming meeting, but the picture of the labor market painted by the JOLTS along with our forecast for August employment points to a rate cut at the next meeting."

On Friday, official data are expected to show that the US economy added 74,000 jobs last month, compared with a 73,000 gain reported for July, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

The probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will cut interest rates by 25 basis points later this month rose to about 96% Wednesday from 93% Tuesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Gold was up 1.2% at $3,635 per troy ounce, while silver rose 1% to $41.47 per ounce.

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