U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a sharper-than-expected decline in job openings for November 2025, underscoring a gradual cooling in labor demand.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.94 percent to 48,996.08. The S and P 500 fell 0.34 percent to 6,920.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.16 percent to 23,584.28.
Eight of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors closed lower, with utilities and industrials leading declines of 2.46 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. Health care and communication services outperformed, rising 1.01 percent and 0.79 percent, respectively.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed U.S. job openings falling to 7.15 million in November, the lowest level in over a year, from a revised 7.45 million in October and well below economists' forecasts.
Energy shares continued to face pressure as oil prices extended Tuesday's losses after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan authorities would transfer 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned oil to the United States.
Meanwhile, real estate investment trusts with exposure to single-family rentals in the United States tumbled after Trump stated that he was taking steps to "ban large institutional investors from buying more" of such properties, citing their role in driving up housing costs for average U.S. people.
Invitation Homes, the nation's largest single-family home landlord, plunged 6.01 percent, while Blackstone and Apollo Global Management both fell more than 5 percent.
In the semiconductor space, Nvidia rose 1 percent while AMD declined 2.02 percent, after both companies unveiled new AI computing platforms at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Intel surged 6.47 percent to lead gains in the Nasdaq.
U.S. stocks close mixed as November job openings fall below expectations
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
