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US job openings fall more than expected in April

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Axos Financial ( AX ) falls as Hindenburg Research reveals short

position

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Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) drops lower on profit forecast revision

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Indexes: Dow up 0.19%, S&P down 0.21%, Nasdaq down 0.34%

(Updated at 10:18 am ET/1418 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Johann M Cherian

June 4 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped on Tuesday after the

latest labor market data compounded worries about growing

weakness in the world's largest economy.

Indexes initially pared gains after a Labor Department

report showed

job openings

were down to 8.05 million in April, lower than an

expectation of 8.35 million, ahead of the closely watched

nonfarm payrolls figures for May, due on Friday.

Separately, the Commerce Department said orders for

manufactured goods rose 0.7%, higher than economists'

expectation of a 0.6% increase.

Following the data, yields on Treasury bonds slipped,

with expectations for a September rate reduction standing at

66.66%, up from about 65% before the report, according to the

CME's FedWatch tool.

Rate-sensitive megacap stocks including Nvidia ( NVDA ),

Apple ( AAPL ), Meta and Microsoft ( MSFT ) were among

the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and were down between

0.6

% and

0.8

%.

Data on Monday showed U.S. factory activity had slowed more

than expected in May and construction spending had dropped in

April, weighing on stocks, although the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

closed the session slightly higher.

"The ISM manufacturing yesterday (indicated) a slowdown

in growth or decrease in activity, and if we see a slowdown in

nonfarm payrolls, that's going to be more of a warning sign,"

said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

He also cited profit-taking and rotation away from

megacaps as reasons for the decline.

"A number of stocks have gotten hit harder than the

overall market, but those are the ones that have performed

extremely well."

Broadly strong corporate earnings coupled with seemingly

resilient economic growth kept Wall Street optimistic and buoyed

stocks over several months. However, a string of recent data has

given rise to worries, even as markets now expect an earlier

start to rate cuts.

Oil companies Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and Chevron ( CVX )

dropped 1.4% and 2.4%, respectively, as demand concerns weighed

on crude prices. Energy stocks led S&P 500 sectoral

declines with a

1.5

% fall.

At 10:18 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 74.32 points, or 0.19%, at 38,645.35, the S&P 500

was down 10.99 points, or 0.21%, at 5,272.41, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 57.87 points, or 0.34%, at 16,770.80.

The blue-chip Dow, underpinned by healthcare stocks,

eked out gains, while the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 Small-Caps

Index declined 0.7%.

Among others, Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) dropped 10.5% after

a lower revision to its quarterly profit forecast.

Axos Financial ( AX ) plunged 8.7% after Hindenburg

Research disclosed a short position in the lender.

Paramount Global ( PARAA ) lost 2.7% after the streaming firm

said it was exploring strategic options or a joint venture for

the Paramount+ streaming service.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.62-to-1

ratio on the

Nasdaq

and by

a 1.39-to-1 ratio on the NYSE

.

The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and four

new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded

21

new highs and

59

new lows.