Stock market today: US indexes slide on strong jobs data as traders await Fed comments

• US stocks slipped on Wednesday as traders took in strong private payrolls data.
• Investors are waiting on commentary from Fed officials on the path of rate cuts this year.
• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic warned he only saw one rate cut coming at the end of 2024.

US stocks traded lower on Wednesday as investors took in private jobs data and awaited more Fed commentary on the outlook for rate cuts this year. All three indexes fell in morning trading, while Treasury yields ticked higher.

Private companies boosted their hiring more than expected last month, taking on 184,000 workers, according to ADP data. That's higher than the 155,000 private payrolls Dow Jones economists expected in March, a sign that hiring remains robust despite the Fed's rate increases. 

A strong job market raises the risk that the Fed could keep interest rates higher for longer, as central bankers are looking to cool down the economy before easing monetary policy. 

Investors are now waiting on more guidance for the path of interest rate cuts later, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other central bankers set to speak throughout Wednesday.

Speaking in the early morning, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic already cast a hawkish tone on the path of rate cuts in 2024, stating in a CNBC interview he believed only one cut would come in late 2024.

"If the economy evolves as I expect, and that's going to be seeing continued robustness in GDP, unemployment, and. slow decline of inflation through the course of the year, I think it would be appropriate for us to ... start moving down at the end of this year, the fourth quarter," Bostic said.

For now, central bankers are still projecting 75 basis-points worth of rate cuts in 2024. Investors, though, are pricing in a 46% chance they could cut rates by less than that amount, higher than 16% odds priced in a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

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

• S&P 500: 5,204.79, down 0.1%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,180.55, up 0.03% (10 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 16,200.21, down 0.3%

Here's what else happened today: 

• Bumper corporate profits helped prevent layoffs and a recession, according to top economist Mark Zandi.
• Tesla's sales were terrible - but they were still enough to retake the EV lead from BYD.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed by 0.62% to $85.68 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 0.74% to $89.58 a barrel. 
• Gold slipped 0.21% to $2,275.69 per ounce. 
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 basis points to 4.413%. 
• Bitcoin rose 1.23% to $65,700.