Wall Street closed lower on Friday as investors weighed the latest jobs data and its implications for the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook. The Nasdaq Composite, the Dow and the S&P 500 ended in negative territory. U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.5%, or 272.51 points, to close at 53,413.60. Twenty components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, and 10 ended in positive territory.The major loser of the Dow was Apple Inc. AAPL. The stock price of this technology hardware company fell 2.5%. Apple currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3% or 77.07 points, to close at 26,506.99.
The S&P 500 lost 0.4% to end at 7,718.41. Out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, eight ended in negative territory, while three were in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) fell 1.3%, 1% and 1%, respectively, while the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) rose 0.4%.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), increased by 1.5% to 14.53. A total of 13.14 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 14.89 billion. The S&P 500 posted three new 52-week highs and six new lows, and the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 99 new lows.
August Jobs Report Puts Fed Rate Path in Focus
The Department of Labor reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, significantly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 52,000. July payrolls were revised to a gain of 21,000 from the previously reported decline of 23,000.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in August. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged up 0.2 percentage point to 61.6%, while the employment-population ratio was little changed at 59.1%.
Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% sequentially to $37.75 in August. Year over year, average hourly earnings rose 3.1%. The average workweek edged up 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours in August.
Following the stronger-than-expected jobs report, CME FedWatch showed a 40.6% probability that the federal funds rate would remain at 3.50-3.75% after the September meeting.
Weekly Roundup
For the week, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Dow fell 0.3%.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).