At the opening, the main index, the industrial Dow Jones, lost 0.21%, while the technology-based Nasdaq fell 0.25% and the expanded S&P 500 index – the main reference for shareholders – fell 0.24 %.
On Friday, Wall Street closed with a slight decline: the Dow Jones fell 0.22% to 38,798.99 points, the Nasdaq lost 0.23% ending at 17,133.13 units and the S&P 500 lost 0.11% to remain at 5,346.99 points.
Wall Street closed in retreat this Friday after the monthly employment report in the United States, which dispels the expectation of a soon cut in interest rates, although the stock market remains close to its records.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.22% to 38,798.99 points, the technology Nasdaq lost 0.23% to 17,133.13 units and the S&P 500 lost 0.11% to 5,346.99 points.
The United States added 272,000 jobs last month, up from 165,000 in April, while the unemployment rate rose from 3.9% to 4.0%, according to the Labor Department.
The job creation figure is significantly above the 185,000 positions expected by analysts based on the consensus gathered by Briefing.com. It is also the highest volume in this section since December 2023.
With the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rates at two-decade highs in an attempt to make credit more expensive and thus discourage consumption and investment to lower pressure on prices, the employment data is not necessarily good news for the market.
“These employment data eliminate any possibility that the Fed (Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States) will reduce its interest rates in July,” estimated Ian Shepherdson, of Pantheon Macroeconomics, who expects a cut in September.
But these numbers are “good news for workers looking for a job,” said Robert Frick of Navy Federal Credit Union.
Consumer stocks lost ground, such as Walmart (-1.89%), Home Depot (-1.25%) and even McDonald’s (-1.74%).
Among the big movements of the day, after a 47% jump on Thursday, the highly speculative stock of the video game store GameStop lost 39.36% to $28.23.
Source: With information from AFP.
