FX.co ★ US Stocks Retreat After Weak Jobs Data

In the afternoon trading session, U.S. stock markets saw a decline following disappointing August employment figures, which heightened concerns regarding an economic slowdown. This happened alongside growing certainty surrounding forthcoming interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.5%, with the Nasdaq 100 experiencing a decline of 0.2%. The economy reported an addition of merely 22,000 jobs, significantly below the anticipated 75,000, and the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, indicating a cooling labor market. In response, traders quickly adjusted their predictions to favor the likelihood of a rate reduction, with increased speculation around a potential 50 basis points cut this month. Economically sensitive sectors led the downturn, including banks, energy, and industrial firms, though the real estate sector saw gains due to optimism about the interest rate cuts. Broadcom's stock surged by 9% after it projected robust revenue growth driven by artificial intelligence, whereas Nvidia dropped 4% and AMD declined by 6.5% following President Trump's announcement of significant tariffs on semiconductors. Lululemon experienced a sharp fall of 18.3% after issuing a second profit warning, while major banks such as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo saw their stocks decrease by over 2.5%.