US stocks edge higher as investor await important March jobs report

• US stocks traded mixed on Thursday, ending a short week as investors looked to the key March jobs report.
• The market took stock of weakening jobs data this week in the form of private payrolls and jobless claims. 
• The Fed has cited a tight labor market as a reason why rates may need to stay higher for longer.

US stocks ticked higher on Thursday as investors waited for the key March jobs report to be released on Friday.

Stocks moved lower in early morning trading, but began to bounce back mid-day, with the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite seesawing into the green.

Investors took stock of payroll data from ADP, which showed 145,000 jobs added last month, below estimates of 210,000. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims rose in the last week and job openings dipping below 10 million in February for the first time in nearly two years. 

A softening labor market is a signal the Federal Reserve is watching for to know if its year of interest rate hikes is being felt in the real economy.

Markets are pricing in 50-50 odds that the Fed will either pause interest rate increases or issue another 25 basis-point rate rise at their next policy meeting on May 2-3, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday: 

• S&P 500: 4,105.02, up 0.36% 

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,485.29, up 0.01% (2.57 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 12,087.96, up 0.76% 

Here's what else is going on: 

• The US housing market could see a 2008-style correction, "Big Short" investor Dave Burt said.
• Stocks are set to rally in the second half of the year, as it "makes no sense" to assume prices have peaked, a BMO strategist said.
• Investors should brace for the biggest drop in corporate profits since the pandemic, Goldman Sachs warned.
• Dogecoin's sharp rally faded after a brief burst of enthusiasm regarding Twitter's new Shiba Inu logo.
• An economist who called the 2008 crisis says more bank collapses are coming.
• The Fed cutting interest rates could be a double-edged sword for commercial real estate.
• US-China tensions are reaching a critical point, and companies that do heavy business in China need to come up with a "plan B," according to one Yale economist.
• There are more signs pointing to an imminent slowdown in the US economy.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices were down slightly, with West Texas Intermediate slipping 0.2% to $80.44 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower to $84.85 a barrel.
• Gold slipped 0.66% to $2,022.80 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield edged higher to 3.30%.
• Bitcoin fell 0.65% to $28,020.87.