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* U.S. service sector index at 2-year low -ISM survey
* Rivian gains as EV deliveries surge
* Indexes: Dow down 0.33%, S&P down 0.14%%, Nasdaq flat
July 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes endured topsy-turvy
trading on Wednesday but were broadly flat heading into the
Federal Reserve publishing the minutes from its latest meeting,
as investors awaited new clues on the central bank's rate policy
and inflation fight.
After a brutal selloff in global equity markets in the first
half of the year, nervous investors are keeping a close watch on
central bank actions as they try to assess the impact of
aggressive rate hikes on global growth.
With recent hawkish comments from Fed policymakers, most
traders are factoring in another 75-basis-point increase later
in July.
Trading on Wednesday was choppy, with all three main
benchmarks experiencing periods in both positive and negative
territory. In the hour before the Fed minutes were due to be
released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), however, they held close to
parity, with the Dow off marginally.
Investors are focused on the minutes from the Federal Open
Market Committee's June meeting where it raised the policy rate
by three-quarters of a percentage point.
The Ukraine conflict, decades-high inflation and the Fed's
pivot away from easy-money policy pushed the S&P 500 to
its steepest first-half percentage drop since 1970. The
benchmark index is down nearly 20% so far this year.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit a session
high after falling earlier in the day to a five-week low.
A key part of the yield curve inverted for the first time in
three weeks on Tuesday, reflecting growing angst in the world's
biggest bond market over recession risks.
"It's a tug of war between people who believe the economy
will remain strong enough and not go into recession, and those
who believe we're already in one," Art Hogan, chief market
strategist at B. Riley, said.
A survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed the
U.S. services industry slowed less than expected in June, but a
measure of services employment dropped to a two-year low,
suggesting that demand for labor could be ebbing.
Another report showed U.S. job openings fell less than
expected in May, pointing to a still-tight labor market. The
more comprehensive June nonfarm payrolls report will be released
on Friday.
Oil prices have slipped in recent days as growing fears of
demand destruction from a possible global recession outweighed
supply concerns. The S&P 500 energy index fell 2.9%,
leading decliners among the 11 subsectors.
By 1:30 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 103.08 points, or 0.33%, to 30,864.74, the S&P 500
lost 5.18 points, or 0.14%, to 3,826.21 and the Nasdaq Composite
was flat at 11,321.69.
Uber Technologies Inc and DoorDash Inc
fell 3.6% and 7.1%, respectively, after Amazon.com Inc
agreed to take a 2% stake in Just Eat Takeaway.com's
struggling U.S. food delivery business Grubhub.
Rivian Automotive Inc gained 11.8% after the
electric-vehicle maker's deliveries nearly quadrupled as it
ramped up production.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in
Bengaluru and David French in New York
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis)