Dow was off 131, decliners over advancers 4-3 & NAZ declined 82.  The MLP index pulled back 1+ to the 219s & the REIT index was up 2 to the 357s.  Junk bond funds fluctuated & Treasuries continued to see strong buying.  Oil dropped 1+ to 68 after yesterday's fall & gold added 5 to 1982 (more on both below).

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

US job openings unexpectedly jumped in Apr to the highest level in 3 months, keeping pressure on Federal Reserve policymakers as they try to cool the economy with an aggressive interest-Rate hike campaign.  The Labor Dept said that there were 10.1M job openings in Apr, an increase from the upwardly revised 9.75M openings reported in the previous month.  The forecast expected a reading of 9.38M.  It marked a major increase from Mar, when the gov reported an upwardly revised 9.75M number of available jobs.  Job openings remain historically high.  Before the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the highest on record was 7.6M.  There are roughly 1. 7 jobs per unemployed American.  The Federal Reserve closely watches these figures as it tries to gauge labor market tightness & wrestle inflation under control.  The higher-than-expected figure indicates that demand for employees still far outpaces the supply of available workers.  The central bank has responded to the inflation crisis & the extremely tight labor market by raising interest rates at the fastest pace in decades.  Officials have so far approved 10 straight rate hikes & have signaled that another increase is on the table at their Jun meeting following a slew of surprisingly hot economic data.  The latest jobs data could give policymakers more space to hike again.  Traders are now pricing in a 66.3% chance of another qtr-percentage-point increase during the Fed's Jun 13-14 meeting, a significant rise from just one day ago, when 36.4% projected another hike, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.  The number of Americans quitting their jobs, meanwhile, was mostly unchanged at 3.8M, or roughly 2.4% of the workforce, indicating that workers remain confident they can leave their jobs & find employment elsewhere.

Job openings unexpectedly surge to highest level in 3 months

Fed's Mester sees no 'compelling' reason to halt rate hikes: report

Biden, McCarthy work to shore up support for debt ceiling bill ahead of House vote

Gold futures ended with a gain, but overall strength in the $ was among the reasons why prices for the metal posted a loss for the month.  A debt deal is not necessarily bad news for gold.  Congress appears to be in a position to pass a debt deal that will avoid a catastrophic default, which initially was hurting gold prices.  The details behind the proposed piece of legislation, however, includes significantly lower spending, which will be a major blow to the economic outlook & likely trigger a much harder hitting recession.  Gold for Aug climbed $5 to settle at $1982 an ounce, with most-active prices logging a monthly decline of 1.8%.

Gold Futures End Higher, Post a Loss for the Month

Oil futures declined after weak economic data out of China underlined worries about demand from one of the world's largest crude importers.  Overall, concerns about demand helped pull US oil prices down by more than 11% for the month.  West Texas Intermediate crude for Jul fell $1.37 (2%) to settle at $68.09 a barrel.  Prices based on the front month, which settled at their lowest since Mar 20, marked a monthly loss of 11.3%.  Jul Brent crude the global benchmark, lost 88¢ (1.2%) at $72.66 a barrel on the contract's expiration day, ending 8.7% lower for the month.  Aug Brent the near front-month contract, shed $1.11 (1.5%) to $72.60 a barrel.  Oil prices got slammed on concerns that the Chinese economy hit a brick wall, talk that OPEC won't back up the tough talk by Saudi Arabia & the possibility that the US might be working towards a plan that could lead toward the lifting of some sanctions on Iran.  A Jun 4 meeting of OPEC+ is in focus.  Saudi Arabia's energy minister earlier this month warned that short sellers should “watch out,” remarks that were viewed by analysts as a warning that a further round of production cuts could be in the offing.

U.S. oil futures settle at lowest since March

For the month, Dow lost 1100.  All eyes will be watching the vote in DC tonight.  The indications are that it will be very close.

Dow Jones Industrials