Stocks curb losses but Nasdaq posts worst week since March
The unemployment rate fell to 8.4% in August
U.S. equity markets clawed back a large portion of their losses but finsihed lower in what was a volatile end to trading ahead of Labor Day weekend.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 41985.35 | +32.03 | +0.08% |
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT INC. | 351.27 | -3.99 | -1.12% |
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 241.61 | +2.62 | +1.10% |
| BAC | BANK OF AMERICA CORP. | 42.47 | -0.04 | -0.08% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which fell over 600 points intraday, lost 159 points, or 0.56%. Investors rotated out of stocks including Home Depot Inc. while buying JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp.
Financials also led the gains in the S&P 500 despite the broader index closing lower by 0.81%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5667.56 | +4.67 | +0.08% |
| XLF | FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF | 49.43 | -0.21 | -0.42% |
The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile. dropped 1.27%, as both Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc., booked gains.
Tesla shares, which briefly slid into bear-market territory, down at least 20% from their Aug. 31 peak, added 2.78%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 17784.05122 | +92.43 | +0.52% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 218.27 | +4.17 | +1.95% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 248.71 | +12.45 | +5.27% |
Looking at the economy, U.S. nonfarm payrolls added 1.371 million workers in August, pushing the unemployment rate down to 8.4% from 10.2%, according to the Labor Department. Wall Street economists surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting the addition of 1.4 million and an unemployment rate of 9.8%.
In Silicon Valley, Alphabet Inc., Amazon Inc. and Microsoft Corp, -- three companies with a market value of greater than $1 trillion -- remained under pressure after Thursday’s bruising selloff.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOG | ALPHABET INC. | 166.25 | +1.20 | +0.73% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 196.21 | +1.26 | +0.65% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 391.26 | +4.42 | +1.14% |
Elsewhere, Malaysia dropped criminal charges against Goldman Sachs Group after the firm last month agreed to a $3.9 billion settlement amid allegations it aided in the theft of billions of dollars from the government’s 1MDB investment fund.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. | 565.05 | +2.48 | +0.44% |
Looking at earnings, Docusign Inc. reported profit and revenue that exceeded Wall Street estimates and gave full-year guidance that outpaced expectations.
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. reported revenue in the three months through June surged 125% to a record $277.97 million.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOCU | DOCUSIGN INC. | 88.06 | +2.95 | +3.47% |
| SWBI | SMITH & WESSON BRANDS | 9.51 | -0.01 | -0.11% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped $1.60 to $39.77 per barrel, its biggest drop since late June, while gold was little changed at $1,923.90 an ounce.
U.S. Treasurys were lower, pushing the yield on the 10-year note up 9.9 basis points to 0.720%, its biggest one-day yield gain since May.
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In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 1.65%, while France’s CAC and Britain’s FTSE slid 0.89% and 0.88%, respectively.
Asian markets finished lower across the board with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sliding 1.25%, Japan’s Nikkei declining 1.11% and China’s Shanghai Composite dropping 0.88%.