U.S. Stocks May Extend Pullback Following Strong Jobs Data
Following the sharp pullback seen in the previous session, stocks may see further downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 205 points.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as the closely watched monthly jobs report showed employment increased by much more than expected in January, raising concerns about the outlook for interest rates
The Labor Department said employment jumped by 467,000 jobs in January compared to economist estimates for an increase of 150,000 jobs.
The report also showed the increase in employment in December was upwardly revised to 510,000 jobs compared to the previously reported 199,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate inched up to 4.0 percent in January from 3.9 percent in December. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to hold unchanged.
U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday, snapping a four-day winning streak, as disappointing earnings news and weak revenue guidance from Facebook parent Meta triggered widespread selling.
The major averages all ended with sharp losses. The Dow ended down by 518.17 points or about 1.5 percent at 35,111.16, not far off from the session’s low of 35,071.06. The S&P 500 declined 111.95 points or 2.4 percent to 4,477.43, while the tech-laden Nasdaq settled at 13,878.82, posting a loss of 538.73 points or 3.7a percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked by 3.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 1.7 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.85 to $92.09 a barrel after spiking $2.01 to $90.27 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after falling $6.20 to $1,804.10 an ounce an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $6.20 to $1,797.60 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 115.32 yen versus the 114.97 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1430 compared to yesterday’s $1.1440.
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