Stocks advance in upbeat start to June trading

U.S stocks gave up gains Wednesday following stronger-than-expected readings from the U.S. manufacturing sector and stern comments from JPMorgan (JPM) boss Jamie Dimon.

After rallying to start the trading session, led by a 1% advance from the Nasdaq, all three major indexes turned negative about 80 minutes into the trading day.

The S&P 500 and the Dow both lost as much as 0.6% while the Nasdaq was off as much as 0.8%.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed the U.S. manufacturing sector grew faster-than-expected in May, another signal that fears of an imminent downturn in the U.S. economy may be overblown.

Manufacturing data was quickly followed by headlines from Dimon, who told Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference the U.S. economy is facing a “hurricane” as the Federal Reserve continues its process of normalizing interest rates.

The April report on job openings from the BLS also showed a decline in the number of job openings, a data point the Federal Reserve is likely to view positively as it works to cool the labor market.

In a meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday, President Joe Biden discussed inflation — a “top economic priority” of his administration — while shifting responsibility to the central bank and emphasizing its independence. The meeting followed a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Biden underscoring his focus on taming soaring prices.

“At the end of the day, inflation is the biggest political challenge that is out there,” John Hancock Investment Management Co-Chief Investment Strategist Matthew Miskin told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday. “To bring down inflation, [the Fed has] got to bring down the economy.”

An upbeat earnings report from Salesforce (CRM) late Tuesday gave investor sentiment a boost early Wednesday after the software company raised its profit forecast and said it did not see any significant impact on operations from macroeconomic uncertainty.

The outlook comes in contrast with some downbeat quarterly results from some corporate peers that signaled struggles with rising costs and supply…

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