Labor Market Data Takes Center Stage 03/06/2026

 HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• U.S. stocks edged to another round of record closes Tuesday, with the S&P 500 finishing above 7,600 for the first time. The broad index rose 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 228.91 points, or 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite finished fractionally higher. Policy developments also stayed in focus after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a voluntary government benchmarking process for new AI models before public release. Economic data offered some support, with April JOLTS openings rising by 730,000 to 7.6 million, the largest increase since May. AI-linked stocks remained the market’s main engine.
• Networking and memory names rallied again after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called Marvell a potential trillion-dollar company, fueling another move across the semiconductor complex. Google continued to slide following headlines about stock sales. Geopolitical tensions also kept oil in focus. Kuwait’s army said its air defenses were intercepting hostile targets, while U.S. Central Command said American forces defeated Iranian missiles and drones and carried out self-defense strikes on Qeshm Island. Investors are now turning to earnings from Medtronic and Macy’s ahead of Wednesday’s open. On the data front, traders will watch ADP private payrolls, final durable goods and factory orders.

Bitcoin Tests Key Support as Capital Flows Into Stocks

• Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since February on Wednesday as investors continued shifting capital toward record-setting equity markets and highly anticipated private-market opportunities. The world's largest cryptocurrency dropped as low as $65,385, down 2.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closed at fresh records and Japan’s Nikkei 225 reached a new all-time high. Market participants say the move reflects a broader liquidity rotation, with investors increasingly favoring AI-driven equities, technology stocks, and potential blockbuster IPOs such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
• As risk appetite remains focused on traditional markets, crypto has struggled to attract fresh capital. From a technical perspective, traders are closely monitoring the mid-$60,000 range. Analysts view the $65,000 area as a critical support level, with a break lower potentially opening the door to a move toward year-to-date lows near $60,000. QCP Capital sees initial support between $63,000 and $64,000, followed by $62,000 and the important $60,000 psychological level. If selling pressure intensifies further, the next major support zone could emerge around $58,000.

Stocks on the move:

• Generac (GNRC): Shares climbed nearly 6% after the company said it will supply backup power for a leading hyperscale data center operator.
• USA Rare Earth (USAR): Shares gained almost 5% after announcing a $1.2 billion investment to build a magnet manufacturing and refined metals facility in South Carolina.
• Intuit (INTU): Shares fell nearly 9% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell, citing rising competition in tax software.
• Coherent (COHR), Lumentum (LITE), Corning (GLW): Optical and photonics stocks rallied after Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported stronger AI-related server demand, with Coherent up 16%, Lumentum up 13% and Corning up 13%.

Watchlist: MRVL, LITE, USAR, INTU, MDT, M, MU, AVGO, GOOGL

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time

08.15 am: USD ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
09:00 am: USD FOMC Member Barr Speaks
09:45 am: USD Final Services PMI
10:00 am: USD ISM Services PMI, Factory Orders
10:30 am: USD Crude Oil Inventories
02:00 pm: USD Beige Book



Earnings

BMC (Before Market Open): Medtronic (MDT), Macy’s (M)

AMC (After Market Close): Broadcom (AVGO), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Veeva Systems (VEEV), Five Below (FIVE)


The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!