The New York Stock Exchange was down slightly on Thursday, in a cautious market on the eve of the release of November's employment figures.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of the 30 leading industrial stocks was down 0.2% at 44.903.8 points, while the broader S&P 500 was down just 0.1% at 6081.1 points.

The technology-weighted Nasdaq Composite was also down less than 0.1% at 19.717.2 points.

Wall Street appears to be taking a breather from the previous day's cascade of record highs, against a backdrop of optimism for the economy, with Donald Trump's forthcoming return to the White House synonymous with tax cuts.

Investors are taking a more cautious approach today as they await tomorrow's release of the Labor Department's official employment report.

However, this morning's announcement of a rise in weekly jobless claims has reinforced the scenario of a slowdown in the labor market, which could reassure them.

Yesterday, the slightly lower-than-expected figures published by ADP had already raised hopes that Friday's statistics would be worse than expected.

Bastien Drut, Head of Strategy and Economic Research at CPR AM, commented: "The various statistics published in the run-up to the November employment report confirm that the US labor market is now lacklustre, particularly with weak hiring momentum.

"Nevertheless, the deterioration is very slow, so there is no urgent need for FOMC members to rush the rate-cutting cycle.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had said yesterday that the US economy was currently in "remarkable shape", confirming the institution's cautious approach to monetary policy.

Traders still rate the probability of a rate cut this month at over 72%, compared with 66% a week ago, according to the FedWatch barometer of stock market operator CME Group.

Bond yields could have eased after the morning's economic indicators, but ten-year paper instead climbed back to 4.21%.

On the oil front, a barrel of Texas light crude advanced 0.2% to $68.7 after OPEC decided to extend its production cuts in order to support prices.

Among stocks, Tesla gained over 4% after BofA analysts raised their price target, expressing greater confidence in the electric vehicle manufacturer's growth potential.

Intel continues its decline following the announcement earlier this week of the unexpected departure of its CEO Pat Gelsinger, despite today's announcement that Eric Meurice, the iconic former boss of ASML, has joined the board with immediate effect.

Ford dropped more than 2% in the wake of a downgrade by Wolfe Research, from 'in-line performance' to 'underperform' on the stock, with a target of eight dollars.

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