US Equity Indexes Mixed as Treasury Yields Jump Following Divergent Labor Market Reports

03:50 PM EST, 12/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed ahead of the close on Thursday as investors weighed labor market data amid a jump in most government bond yields.

The Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 23,447.1, while the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower to 6,842.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 47,782.7.

Consumer staples, healthcare, and consumer discretionary were among the decliners, while industrials, communication services, and energy led the gainers.

Initial jobless claims fell to 191,000 in the week ended Nov. 29, the lowest since September 2022, from an upwardly revised 218,000 in the previous week. The expectations in a Bloomberg-compiled survey were for 220,000.

The latest read is only about 10,000 higher than the lowest prints since the 1960s, according to a Jefferies note. "This week's reference week includes Thanksgiving, which is notorious for making seasonal adjustment difficult."

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday that companies planned to cut 71,321 jobs in November, down from 153,074 in October but above the 57,727 a year ago.

"Layoff plans fell last month, certainly a positive sign," said Andrew Challenger, the company's senior vice president. "That said, job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008."

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the two-year yield up 4.3 basis points to 3.53%. The 10-year yield jumped five basis points to 4.11%.

The US Dollar index rose 0.2% to 99.02.

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