Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stocks were little changed Friday as Treasury yields jumped following the release of stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 85 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 also shed 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded near the flatline. At its session low, the Dow had fallen as much as 270 points.
The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected 170,000 jobs. To be sure, wages rose less than expected last month.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield jumped more than 10 basis points on the back of the data to trade near a 16-year high set earlier this week. The 10-year Treasury yield was last up at 4.82%.
10-Year U.S. Treasury
Friday’s jobs report raised concern among investors that the Federal Reserve will need to keep rates higher for longer to tame inflation.
“In this case, [the] good jobs news is bad news for the market,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance. “The bond market is going to worry that the Fed is going to keep raising rates. … And the stock market is going to worry about even higher interest rates and the impact that will have on the consumer and on corporate profits.”
The utilities sector, which is sensitive to high rates, fell 1.4% Friday. AES lost 5%, while Dominion Energy and Sempra shed 2% each. Consumer staples also declined 2.1%, with Church & Dwight, McCormick and Kellanova all down 3% and more.
All the major averages are headed toward a losing week. The S&P 500 is down 1.4% week to date. This marks the broad market index’s fifth consecutive week of losses, which would be its longest weekly slide since May 2022. The Dow is down 1.7%, while the Nasdaq is 0.9% lower for the week.
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