US Equity Indexes Slump This Week as Fed Rate Increase Expectations Sink Big Tech, Iran Demands Frozen Assets
US equity indexes dropped this week as big tech tumbled after strong jobs data boosted the odds for monetary policy tightening, while Iran linked the release of billions of dollars of frozen assets to a peace deal with Washington.* The S&P 500 closed at 7,383.59 on Friday versus 7,580.06 a week ago. The Nasdaq Composite stood at about 25,709.43, compared with 26,972.62 a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 50,866.78, versus 51,032.46 at the end of last week.* Consumer cyclical, communication services, and technology were among the worst five sectors this week. Amazon.com (AMZN), Tesla (TSLA), and Microsoft (MSFT) were among the bottom 10 companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion this week, according to data compiled by Finviz.* Nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, above the 88,000 jobs increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, while April payrolls were revised upwards to a 179,000 increase and March payrolls were revised higher to a 214,000 gain, for a net upward revision of 93,000 jobs.* US job openings rose to 7.618 million in April, above the 6.866 million consensus.* The probability of a 25 basis-point increase in interest rates in December surged to 43%, from 36% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The comparisons for September were 34% versus 20%, and, for October, the data showed an increase to 40% from 25%.* A potential peace deal between the US and Iran hinges on US President Donald Trump's administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN from Tehran, warning that the US would "enter into a dark corridor" should it resume fighting.* "The negotiations are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock," Rezaei was cited as saying in the news report.
