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 KOSPI fell 0.3%, while Nasdaq Index down 1%. this Dow Jones Industrial Average Up 145 points, or 0.4%.
Broadcom Then it dropped 9% Forecast fiscal fourth quarter revenue That was lower than analysts expected. Other semiconductor stocks followed suit, with Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Marvell Technology each falling at least 2%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF fell 2%. Megacap technology stocks also lagged, with Amazon and Alphabet both down more than 1%.
The latest employment data for August showed further signs of a slowdown in the labor market as worries about economic growth intensified on Wall Street. Nonfarm 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.”
The data will influence the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision later this month. A string of weak labor data in recent weeks has heightened concerns about the health of the economy, unnerving markets and denting risk appetite.
Investors remain optimistic that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by at least 25 percentage points at the end of its September policy meeting. 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 2.4%, its worst week since April, while the Nasdaq is down 3.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% at 30 levels.
