Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor during afternoon trading on Sept. 5, 2024.
Michael M. Santiago | Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images
this S&P 500 Index Shares fell slightly on Friday, heading into their worst week since April, as investors assessed a weaker-than-expected August jobs report and its impact on U.S. monetary policy.
The Composite Index fell 0.5%, Nasdaq Index down 1%. this Dow Jones Industrial Average Up 30 points, or 0.1%.
Big tech stocks lagged as investors continued to sell risk assets as worries about economic growth grew on Wall Street. Amazon and Alphabet fell more than 1%, and Tesla fell 2%. Broadcom The company’s shares fell 9% after forecasting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue in line with expectations. Other semiconductor stocks followed suit, with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Marvell Technology each falling at least 2%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF fell 2%.
The latest employment data for August showed further signs of a slowdown in the labor market. A series of weak labor data raised concerns about the health of the economy, spooking markets and denting risk appetite. Non-farm employment growth 142,000 peoplewhile economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 161,000 points. However, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2%, in line with expectations.
Sonu Varghese, global macro strategist at Carson Group, said, “The August non-farm payrolls data suggest that risks are rising as the labor market softens significantly, and the Fed needs to step in to eliminate tail risks.” “The report finalizes an agreement to cut interest rates in September , but the real big question is whether the Fed will cut interest rates significantly (by 50 basis points) to deal with rising risks.”
Many investors remain optimistic that the Fed will cut interest rates by at least 25 percentage points at the end of its September policy meeting later this month. Nearly half of traders now expect a 50 basis point rate cut CME FedWatch Tool.
Stocks have endured a tumultuous week ahead of Friday’s data. The S&P 500 is expected to fall 3%, its worst week since April, while the Nasdaq is down 4.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9% at 30 levels.
About The Author
