Big tech companies and Tesla were among those with the worst day
A trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City , U.S., April 11, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Stocks ended another hectic week with more losses on Friday, as investors considered the negative side of the still strong US labor market.
The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, marking its eighth week of losses in the last nine. Losses by big tech companies helped push the Nasdaq down 2.5 percent.
The Dow Jones index lost 1%. A report showing stronger-than-expected hiring last month is welcome news for the economy amid concerns about a potential recession.
Treasury bond yields rose after the government reported stronger-than-expected hiring last month, keeping the Federal Reserve on track for a series of major interest rate hikes aimed at controlling inflation and slowing the economy.
The most comprehensive report from the US government showed that lEmployers added 390,000 jobs last month, better than expectations of 322,500.
The report contained some signs that analysts said could lead the Fed to be less aggressive, and the mixed data could lead markets to oscillate until Friday. Large daily pullbacks have become the norm of late, as Wall Street struggles to gauge how aggressive the Federal Reserve is.
< b>Average wages for workers were slightly weaker in May than economists expected. While this is discouraging for people who see prices at the grocery store and the gas pump rising more than their paychecks, it could mean less future pressure on inflation throughout the economy. In addition, job growth in the country slowed last month, although it was better than expected.
“The employment situation remains strong for the economy, but there are some signs of a slowdown,” said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments. “The signs are not clear and convincing enough to suggest that the Fed should pause just yet, but a lot can change in the coming months”.
“There are just a lot of uncertainties,” said John Lynch, chief investment officer at Comerica Wealth Management. “You can’t put Ukraine on a spreadsheet and you can’t put China lockdowns on a spreadsheet.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said earlier this week that he is preparing his company for a possible economic “hurricane”, noting less economic support from the US government and the Federal Reserve, as well as like the war in Ukraine.
(With information from AP)