STOCK MARKET UPDATES: Investors cautious ahead of jobs data, rail strike looms, Musk vs. Apple

US stocks turned higher late Tuesday morning after whipsawing late Monday night as Chinese stocks moved higher days after weekend COVID-19 demonstrations in various Chinese cities took place. 

Although market sentiment has been weighed down by the recent demonstrations in China, some analysts noted calm could return in coming sessions.

The world’s second largest economy has been stifled by a “zero COVID” policy which includes lockdowns that continually threaten the global supply chain. The unrest has stoked worries on Wall Street that if Chinese leader Xi Jinping cracks down further on dissidents there or expands the lockdowns, it could slow the Chinese economy, which would hurt oil prices and global economic growth, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. 

On Monday, more than 90% of the stocks in the S&P 500 closed in the red, with technology companies the biggest weights on the broader market. Apple, which has seen iPhone production hit hard by lockdowns in China, fell 2.6%. 

Anxiety remains high over the ability of the Federal Reserve to tame inflation by raising interest rates without going too far and causing a recession. The central bank’s benchmark rate currently stands at 3.75% to 4%, up from close to zero in March.

It has warned it may have to ultimately raise rates to previously unanticipated levels to rein in high prices on everything from food to clothing. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak at the Brookings Institution about the outlook for the U.S. economy and the labor market on Wednesday. 

The Conference Board will release its consumer confidence index for November on Tuesday. That could shed more light on how consumers have been holding up amid high prices and how they plan on spending through the holiday shopping season and into 2023. 

The U.S. government will release several reports about the labor market this week that could give Wall Street more insight into one of the strongest sectors of the economy.

A report about job openings and labor turnover for October will be released on Wednesday, followed by a weekly unemployment claims report on Thursday. The closely watched monthly report on the job market will be released on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as jitters over protests in China set off by growing public anger over COVID-19 restrictions subsided. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 4% to 17,981.31, while the Shanghai Composite added 2.3% to 3,148.17. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to 28,016.58. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% to 7,249.80. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8% to 2,427.13. 

Japanese government data released Tuesday showed that the unemployment rate for October was unchanged from September at 2.6%.

Separately, data released by another ministry showed a slight increase in the number of available jobs per job-seeker at 1.35. The increase has continued for 10 months. Hiring was up in anticipation of tourists returning in droves to Japan.

Borders that have been basically closed during the coronavirus pandemic have reopened at a time when the declining value of the yen against the U.S. dollar and other currencies make Japan an attractive destination for tourists.