U.S. markets took a tumble on Friday, September 6th, after a disappointing jobs report revealed a slowdown in the labor market. This news sparked uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s next steps regarding interest rates, leading to a significant drop in major indexes. The S&P 500 and the Dow experienced their largest weekly declines since March 2023, while the Nasdaq saw its biggest weekly drop since January 2022. The U.S. economy added only 142,000 jobs in August, falling short of the anticipated 160,000 and following a revised increase of 89,000 in July. Despite the slower job growth, the unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% from 4.3%, and average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% to $35.21, compared to a 0.2% gain in July. Most sectors within the S&P 500 declined, with communication services, IT, and consumer discretionary leading the losses. However, real estate stocks saw a slight increase. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.01% at 40,345.41. The S&P 500 ended the day 1.75% lower at 5,408.42, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.55%, finishing the session at 16,690.83.
Asian markets opened the week with mixed performances on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed lower by 0.72% at 36,159.50, with losses in the Shipbuilding, Machinery, and Electrical/Machinery sectors. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.32%, ending the session at 7,988.10, led by losses in the Gold, Consumer Discretionary, and Energy sectors. On a more positive note, India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.37% at 24,943.50, and the Nifty 500 was higher by 0.11% at 23,504.05. In China, the Shanghai Composite ended the session down 1.06% at 2,736.49, while the Shenzhen CSI fell 1.19%, closing at 3,192.95. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also closed lower, dropping 1.42% to 17,196.96.
European markets started the day on a more positive note. As of 05:30 AM ET, the European STOXX 50 index was up 0.95%. Germany’s DAX rose 0.82%, France’s CAC gained 0.79%, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.69%.
Commodity markets also experienced mixed movements. Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.06% at $68.39/bbl, and Brent was up 0.99% at $71.76/bbl. The rebound in oil prices was attributed to concerns over supply disruptions due to a potential hurricane near the U.S. Gulf Coast. While weather risks contributed to the rebound, analysts also noted ongoing concerns about demand and OPEC+ actions. Natural Gas prices fell 3.56% to $2.194. Gold traded higher by 0.02% at $2,525.10, Silver gained 1.06% to $28.480, and Copper rose 1.87% to $4.1500.
Looking ahead, US futures were trading higher in the pre-market. Dow futures were up 0.57%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.70%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.93%. The U.S. dollar index rose 0.35% to 101.54, the USD/JPY rose 0.83% to 143.46, and the USD/AUD gained 0.09% to 1.5014.
