Wall Street closes lower after US jobs report, Apple weighs

Record ID: 1736556

  • Title: Wall Street closes lower after US jobs report, Apple weighs
  • Date: 4th August 2023
  • Summary: RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 4, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GLOBAL FIXED INCOME CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT RIVERFRONT INVESTMENT GROUP, KEVIN NICHOLSON, SAYING: "The jobs numbers that came out today were ho-hum. But I think that it had a very important message in it, and that message was that the labor market still is strong and still is tight, even though it's slowing, and that is because we saw the unemployment rate tick down from 3.6% to 3.5%. So that means that for all of the retirees that leave the workforce, that we are actually finding jobs for those that are entering the workforce to replace them, and we have fewer people that are unemployed right now, so jobs are available and people are able to get them. And so the participation rate has stayed the same, and that's an important part, because that means that for every person that leaves the labor force where we have enough personnel to be able to replace them. And so I think that even though the nonfarm payroll numbers showed a slight deceleration in the number of jobs that we're creating every month, it still shows us that we have a long way to go before we have a loose labor market."
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2023 21:20
  • Keywords: jobs nonfarm payroll stocks
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Economic Events,North America,Equities Markets
  • Reuters ID: LVA002238404082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Wall Street fell on Friday (August 4) after a report of slowing U.S. labor market growth, and all three major indexes posted weekly losses as investors braced for more possible downside surprises a day after disappointing earnings from Apple.
    The trading session was choppy, with the indexes rising in the morning, then wavering before turning negative. Apple shares were down more than 4%, weighing down the S&P 500.
    On the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury edged lower in afternoon trading.
    The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs in July. Data for June additions was revised lower to 185,000 jobs, from 209,000 reported previously.
    Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in July, unchanged from the previous month, exceeding expectations, taking the year-on-year increase in wages to 4.4%.
    The yield on the 10-year benchmark Treasury note dipped after the jobs data, partly boosting some megacap stocks.
    Buoying the S&P 500 index, Amazon.com shares rose after the company issued an upbeat third-quarter outlook. Apple's shares dipped as the iPhone maker forecast a continued slide in sales.
    Shares of other big tech companies, Microsoft, Alphabet and Snowflake all rose after Amazon's cloud business segment beat sales estimates.
    The S&P 500 lost 23.86 points, or 0.53%, to end at 4,478.03 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 50.48 points, or 0.36%, to 13,909.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 150.27 points, or 0.43%, to 35,065.62.
    (Production: Lisa Bernhard, Roselle Chen)
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