Wall Street fell and the U.S. dollar remained firm today after the monthly U.S. employment data came close enough to forecast to raise speculation the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade perhaps as early as next month.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) skidded 0.4 percent to 2,076.10 at 3:47 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) sank 0.3 percent to 17,361.18, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) fell 0.4 percent to 5,039.08.
The U.S. Labor Department said employers added 215,000 jobs in July, slightly below a Reuters poll of 223,000 jobs, but the unemployment rate held at a seven-year low of 5.3 percent and there were signs that wages were beginning to pick up.
Investors have been scouring economic data, including today’s jobs report, for guidance on the timing of the first increase in U.S. short-term rates in nearly a decade. Fed officials last month said they were looking for further improvement in the labor market before making such a move.
A hike in rates, which have stayed near zero for nearly a decade, will increase borrowing costs for companies, crimping profits.
MOVERS:
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) advanced 13.7 percent to $23.25 after the chipmaker reported a surprise rise in second-quarter revenue.
ADRs of JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) fell 2 percent to $32.14 after China's second largest e-commerce site by sales reported a 61 percent year-on-year rise in second quarter revenues, topping expectations.
Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) sank 5.7 percent to $4.43 even as the daily-deals company posted a 3.1 percent increase in quarterly revenue.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY) fell 2.7 percent to $89.73 after the chocolate maker posted a second-quarter loss, hurt by low demand in China.
Cablevision Systems (NYSE:CVC) dropped 2.6 percent to $25.84 after delivering profit that topped expectations, while revenue matched estimates.
Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) plunged 10.4 percent to $21.06 after the grocery store chain gave a soft profit forecast and promoted its chief financial officer to chief executive.
Lions Gate (NYSE:LGF) rose 7 percent to $37.79. The entertainment company soundly beat expectations with a profit of 26 per share versus a $0.07 forecast, but missed on revenue, posting $409 million versus estimates of $428 million.
Transocean (NYSE:RIG), the world’s largest offshore rig owner, slipped 2.7 percent to $13.47 after a 12 percent jump, the most since October 2008, following the offshore driller’s better-than-estimated earnings.
Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT:LNG) gained 5.1 percent to $68.55 after activist investor Carl Icahn reported an 8.2 percent stake in the firm and said he might seek a seat on the liquefied natural gas company's board.
COMMODITIES:
December gold settled up 0.4 percent to $1,094.10 an ounce.
September crude fell 1.8 percent to close at $43.87 a barrel.
OTHER STOCKS:
Stocks remained lower in Europe. Germany’s DAX lost 0.8 percent, while France’s CAC 40 lost 0.7 percent, and the Stoxx Europe 600 index shed 0.9 percent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average added 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 percent.