Wall Street in Online News & Economic News

US Stocks Fall on Worries Strong Jobs Data Means Hawkish Fed

economy online news

Wall Street stocks opened lower Friday after a better-than-expected US employment report raised worries that monetary policy would remain highly aggressive to counter inflation. online news

The world’s biggest economy added 263,000 jobs in November, more than anticipated, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent, Labor Department data showed.

Government figures also indicated a bigger jump in hourly wages than analysts had benchmarked.

“The report itself is good news from an economic standpoint, yet the market sees it as bad news, thinking it will push out any eventual pivot by the Fed with its monetary policy,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.8 percent at 34,131.51.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.0 percent to 4,037.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 1.1 percent to 11,353.99.

Friday’s early weakness contrasted with a large rally Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank could moderate its pace of interest rate hikes as soon as December.

The Fed’s monetary policy panel is next due to announce a decision on December 14.

jmb/bys

© Agence France-Presse. All rights are reserved.

economy online news

Commentary & News Online
APS Radio News