Dow tumbles more than 500 points as weak jobs data, new tariffs spark sell-off: Live updates
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Stocks were under pressure on Friday to kick off August trading as investors weighed stark signs of a weakening economy and President Donald Trump's modified tariff rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 583 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 shed 1.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 1.9%.
The July jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls expanded by 73,000 last month, well beneath the consensus estimate from economists polled by Dow Jones that called for a 100,000 increase to payrolls. Prior months were significantly revised down. June job growth totaled just 14,000, down from 147,000. The May count came down to 19,000 from 125,000, signaling the labor market has been weakening for a while now.
Bank stocks were sharply lower on fears that a slowing economy could hit loan growth. Shares of JPMorgan Chase pulled back about 4%, while Bank of America and Wells Fargo fell more than 3% each. GE Aerospace and Caterpillar dipped 3%.
"This gives the fed the ammunition it needs now to cut in September, but unfortunately now it looks too little too late," said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets.
The numbers increased the odds that the Fed could act sooner than expected to cut rates and prop up the economy, a notion that helped stem stock losses. Traders place the likelihood of a September rate cut at 66% after the jobs figures, according to CME fed futures trading. That's a reversal from Wednesday, when the odds plummeted after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled the central bank needs to wait and evaluate the impact of tariffs on inflation before cutting.
Not helping sentiment overnight were Trump's updated duties ranging from 10% to 41% overnight at the Aug. 1 deadline. Goods that have been transshipped in a bid to avoid the tariffs will face another 40% levy, according to the White House.
Probably most shocking to markets was that for Canada, one of the U.S.' biggest trading partners, goods imported into the country will now have a 35% levy, up from 25%.
"While investors have been viewing the commencement of the Fed cutting cycle as a positive catalyst for risk assets, today's release is best characterized as 'bad news is bad news' in our view. With job creation at stall speed levels and the tariff headwind lying ahead, there's a strong possibility of a negative payroll print in the coming months which may conjure up fears of a recession," Jeffrey Schulze, head of economic and market strategy at ClearBridge Investments.
Shares of Amazon tumbled more than 7% after the e-commerce giant provided light operating income guidance for the current quarter. Not all tech news was bad as Apple shares jumped 2% on the back of an earnings and revenue beat.
Stocks are coming off of a lackluster trading session, which saw the S&P 500 notch its third straight losing day as solid earnings from Microsoft and Meta Platforms failed to lift the broader market. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had hit intraday records earlier in the session until the tech-fueled rally fizzled.
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