U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Lower Following Mixed Jobs Data

Stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday following the release of a highly anticipated U.S. jobs data. The major averages have fluctuated over the course of the session but have largely maintained a negative bias.

Currently, the major averages are off their lows of the session but still in the red. The Dow is down 232.63 points or 0.5 percent at 48,183.93, the Nasdaq is down 62.23 points or 0.3 percent at 22,995.18 and the S&P 500 is down 31.93 points or 0.5 percent at 6,784.58.

The weakness on Wall Street comes following the release of the Labor Department’s report on employment in the month of November.

While report showed stronger than expected job growth in November, the increase followed a notable loss of jobs in October.

The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 64,000 jobs in November after tumbling by 105,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected employment to rise by 50,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in November from 4.4 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 4.5 percent.

With the bigger than expected increase, the unemployment rate reached its highest level since hitting 4.7 percent in September 2021.

Most economists said the data has increased the likelihood the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the near future, the report has also raised concerns about the strength of the economy.

“Although the market generally cheers rate cuts, if the Fed is forced to cut rates more aggressively next year because we are headed into a recession, the stock market will drop instead,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed retail sales in the U.S. were roughly flat in the month of October.

The Commerce Department said retail sales were virtually unchanged in October after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in September.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

However, excluding a steep drop in auto sales, retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in October after edging up by 0.1 percent in September. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

Sector News

Energy stocks are seeing substantial weakness on the day amid another steep decline by the price of crude oil.

With crude for January delivery plunging $1.52 or 2.7 percent to $55.30 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 4.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is down by 3.1 percent.

Significant weakness is also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent loss being posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.

Pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while most of the other major sectors are showing more modest moves.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.6 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength as traders digest the mixed jobs data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 4.168 percent.