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US private payrolls growth slows in December - ADP

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Fed meeting minutes show rising price pressure risk

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Quantum-computing stocks drop as Nvidia CEO sees long road

ahead

(Updates to market close)

By Johann M Cherian, Sukriti Gupta and Carolina Mandl

Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended Wednesday little

changed, as major indexes failed to stray frar from the

unchanged mark, with investors digesting the impact of two

conflicting sets of jobs data and a report that said

President-elect Donald Trump was mulling a national economic

emergency declaration on inflation.

"Inflation is the wild card in 2025. There are lots of

things that potentially have the risk to shift inflation back

upward," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for

Allianz Investment Management.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's Dec. 17-18 meeting

showed on Wednesday that officials saw a rising risk that price

pressures may remain sticky as policymakers began wrestling with

the impact of policies expected from the incoming Trump

administration.

Market sentiment was fragile after a CNN report said Trump

was mulling building the new tariff program by using the

International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which authorizes a

president to manage imports during a national emergency.

Benchmark 10-year yields peaked at 4.73%, the highest since

April 25, to retreat slightly to 4.681% later in the afternoon.

Ahead of Trump taking office later in the month, concerns

about potential surcharges on U.S. trade partners have kept

investors on edge as Trump's policies, including mass

deportations and tariffs, could stoke inflation pressures.

"If wider tariffs are implemented it could have a short-term

impact on inflation," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill

Capital LLC. "The Fed will sit back and see if he (Trump) does

enact punitive tariffs and if he does, how much of that

potential inflationary impact will be offset by the cuts in

government spending."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 8.49 points, or 0.13%, to end at 5,917.52 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite lost 10.96 points, or 0.06%,

to 19,478.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 93.75

points, or 0.22%, to 42,622.11.

Most of the 11 S&P 500 sectors posted modest gains, led

by the healthcare index.

The Russell 200 Index tracking domestically

focused small-cap companies dropped.

Megacaps were mixed with Microsoft ( MSFT ) up, while

Alphabet and Meta fell.

Investors also assessed an ADP National Employment Report

that showed private payrolls growth slowed sharply in December,

although a separate Labor Department report said jobless claims

for the previous week fell.

The Fed has stayed put on interest rates, and traders now

expect the first trim this year in either May or June, according

to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said inflation should

continue falling in 2025 and allow the central bank to further

reduce interest rates, though at an uncertain pace.

Worries about higher inflation following upbeat economic

data weighed on the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

on Tuesday, when the indexes logged their biggest daily declines

since the Fed's December meeting in which the central bank

issued a cautious stance on upcoming interest rate cuts.

EBay ( EBAY ) rose after Meta Platforms ( META ) said it

will launch a test showing the e-commerce firm's listings on

Facebook Marketplace.

Edison International ( EIX ) dropped sharply. Its

Californian subsidiary cut power to customers to prevent damage

to distribution lines from a wildfire.

Quantum-computing stocks Rigetti Computing ( RGTI ), IonQ ( IONQ )

and Quantum Computing ( QUBT ) plunged after Nvidia

boss Jensen Huang said computers based on the emerging

technology are as much as 30 years away.

Markets will be closed on Thursday for a national day of

mourning to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.