STORY: U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow closing essentially flat, the S&P 500 gaining half a percent and the Nasdaq climbing 1%.A Labor Department report showed U.S. job openings fell more than expected in July and hiring was moderate, consistent with easing labor market conditions.Several Federal Reserve officials said labor market concerns continue to support their belief that rate cuts lie ahead. But Brian Mulberry, client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, said it will be important to know the impetus behind an expected September rate cut.”Is this because we're actually winning the war against inflation? Or could the motive be a little bit more suspicious to markets in that growth is slowing? And part of that showed up today in the JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) report, where we actually saw a meaningful reduction in the amount of open jobs that were available for employees searching for new work. So, that kind of is a signal that growth might be slowing. And the reason we get a rate cut might not be the one the market has priced in at the moment.”Stocks on the move Wednesday included Alphabet and Apple, which gave the S&P 500 and Nasdaq their biggest boosts.Shares of Alphabet rose about 9% after a late Tuesday court ruling allowed Google to retain control of its Chrome browser and Android mobile operating system, while barring certain exclusive contracts with device makers and browser developers.Shares of Apple gained nearly 4% as the ruling also preserved lucrative payments to the iPhone maker from Google.Shares of American Eagle Outfitters soared about 25% in extended trading after the retailer forecast third-quarter comparable sales above expectations, betting on a boost in demand from its controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign.On the flip side, shares of Salesforce dropped more than 4% in extended trading after the business software provider forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates.
