Shares of industrial and transportation companies moved lower as investors focused on economic data.
U.S. labor productivity declined for the second consecutive quarter as overall economic output contracted and employers spent more on labor as they added workers.
U.S. nonfarm labor productivity-a measure of goods and services produced in the U.S. per hour worked-fell at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6% in the second quarter from the prior quarter, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had estimated a drop of 5%.
Meanwhile, investors await consumer-price data on Wednesday that could set expectations for how the Federal Reserve will approach monetary policy at its coming meetings.
In recent weeks, better-than-expected corporate earnings and strong labor-market data have eased concerns about an imminent U.S. recession, helping stock markets rebound from their lows.
Labor negotiations for West Coast port workers appear to have shippers re-routing their volumes to go out of East Coast ports instead, which in turn is causing congestion at those ports.
American Airlines Group said it expects to take its first delivery of a Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliner as soon as Wednesday, its first after a long pause in deliveries of the jet that has created headaches for airlines and the manufacturer.
Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-09-22 1704ET
