Wall Street Today | Nasdaq in Worst Losing Streak Since 2022

Nasdaq fell for a fifth straight session, the worst losing streak in more than a year, weighed down by mega-cap stocks that have been pulling back from recent highs.

Stocks have been retreating after minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting in December showed policymakers were concerned over "unusually elevated degree of uncertainty" that could cloud their projections for interest rate cuts by the end of 2024. The rally seen late last year was boosted by expectations that the Fed will start lowering borrowing costs this year.

New jobless claims fell to a three-month low of 202,000, signaling continued resilience in the labor market that bolsters optimism of a soft landing for the economy that last year saw the fastest pace of interest rate increases in decades.

Businesses added 164,0,000 new jobs in December, according to paycheck company ADP. That's higher than the 130,000-increase expected by economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.

The S&P Global US services index was revised slightly higher in December, with the strongest expansion in output seen since July amid improving client demand and new orders.

On the consumer side, 2023 holiday shopping rose to a record $222.1 billion in the period from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, up 4.9% from a year earlier. Spending was buoyed by discounts and flexible payment methods, such as "buy now, pay later."

Crude oil futures declined after the US Energy Information Administration released data showing massive weekly gasoline and distillate stock builds. Gasoline inventories rose by 10.9 million barrels to 237 million barrels, the biggest week-on-week increase in more than three decades, according to a Reuters report.