Update: Wall Street Wraps Mixed Week in Red Following Strong Jobs Report
(Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.)US stocks fell Friday to cap a mixed week on Wall Street as strong jobs data raised the odds of an interest rate hike later this month.The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.5% to close at 53,414.25, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.4% to 7,718.60. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3% to 26,506.99. Most sectors ended in the red, led by consumer discretionary, while industrials paced the gainers.US markets will be closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.This week, the Dow lost 0.3%, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 gained 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, nearly triple the 55,000 increase projected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. July's tally was revised to show a gain of 21,000 from a 23,000 fall.The jobs report comes as the Federal Reserve weighs labor market conditions and inflation expectations ahead of its policy meeting later this month. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said late last month that the US economy was "doing well" on employment, describing inflation numbers as more concerning.Markets are pricing in a 58% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise its benchmark lending rate on Sept. 16, up from 49% on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch tool."The labor market strength and resilience evident in the August employment report with upward job revisions over the past two months nearly wipe away the narrative of labor market deterioration over the summer," BMO Chief US Economist Scott Anderson said in a note."The report adds important weight to the hawks' argument that inflation may not moderate back toward the Fed's 2% target in a timely manner without at least a nudge up in interest rates to help cool aggregate demand."Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Thursday he would support keeping interest rates steady if further signs of disinflation emerge, though he seemed willing to tighten monetary policy if price pressures intensify.Diesel prices in the US reached an all-time high on Friday amid crude supply disruptions, likely adding to concerns around sticky inflation.Treasury yields were higher, with the two-year rate rising 4.3 basis points to 4.38% and the 10-year rate up 2.2 basis points at 4.78%.West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.1% at $91.37 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 0.5% to $96. The benchmarks were on track for weekly gains of 9.3% and 8.8%, respectively.In company news, Lululemon (LULU) shares tanked 17%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, as the athletic apparel retailer lowered its full-year outlook amid challenging market dynamics and continued pressure on the brand.UiPath (PATH) slid nearly 17% after the software company released its latest quarterly results late Thursday.Zscaler (ZS) fell 4.5% even as the cloud security company reported fiscal fourth-quarter results above Wall Street's consensus and outlined a strong full-year outlook. The company's guidance is conservative and reflects factors including an expected loss of Red Canary's customers and the competitive artificial intelligence security environment, Oppenheimer said in a note.Adobe (ADBE) slumped 6.7%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500, after the company named insider Anil Chakravarthy as its next chief executive, succeeding Shantanu Narayen, who will become executive chair. Chakravarthy's appointment could lead to strategic messaging around the company's experience cloud business, RBC Capital Markets said in a note.Bucking the market's downward trend, tech-related stocks rose, with SanDisk (SNDK) up nearly 12%, the biggest gain on the S&P 500. Marvell Technology (MRVL), Micron Technology (MU) and Western Digital (WDC) also advanced.Spot gold was 0.9% lower at $4,431.29 per troy ounce, while silver lost 1.3% to $66.82 per ounce.
