As Major Indexes Notch Weekly Losses, Dow Tumbles 300 Points And Nasdaq Falls 2%
Stocks in the United States fell on Friday to finish the week lower as investors digested a stronger-than-expected jobs report and its influence on future monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 348.58 points, or 1.1%, to 32,899.70. The S&P 500 slipped 1.6% to 4,108.54. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell nearly 2.5% to 12,012.73. The three indexes ended the holiday-shortened week in negative territory. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% this week, while the Dow and the Nasdaq each lost nearly 1%.
The most recent jobs report revealed that U.S. hiring remained elevated in May. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls added 390,000 jobs last month. According to Dow Jones, economists expected 328,000 new jobs last month. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, average hourly earnings grew 0.3% in May, slightly less than the consensus estimate of 0.4% and similar to April. “Good news is bad news. … It reminds us that the Fed is still the swing factor, at least in investor emotion,” Mark Hackett, Nationwide’s chief of investment research, said. Technology shares retreated Friday amid the rising rates. Micron Technology fell 7.2%, and Nvidia lost about 4.5%. Mega-cap tech names Google-parent Alphabet and Meta Platforms declined roughly 2.6% and 4.1%, respectively. Apple pulled back about 3.9% after a cautious research note from Morgan Stanley. The firm said slowing App Store growth could hurt the company in the near term. Tesla shares fell 9.2% after Reuters reported, citing an internal email, that CEO Elon Musk wants to cut 10% of jobs at the car maker. According to a Reuters report, Musk also said in the email that he has a “super bad” feeling about the economy.