4.05pm: Wall Street finishes flat
US stocks lost steam at the end of the week as disappointing jobs data from August tempered expectations about the speed of the country's economic recovery.
At the close, both the S&P 500 and the Dow were in the red, with the S&P retreating slightly at 4,535 points and the Dow losing 0.21% to close at 35,369 points.
Only the Nasdaq finished in positive territory, ending Friday's trading session up 0.21% at 15,364 points.
12.05pm: Economic recovery concerns weigh on US equities
US stocks struggled for direction in noon trading as nonfarm payrolls (NFP) increased by 235,000 in August, falling far short of the 720,000 jobs expected, fuelling concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) delta variant.
At midday, the Dow fell 103 points to 35,341, while the S&P 500 eased 6 points at 4,530 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 11 points, or 0.1%, to 15,342.
“Stock markets have moved firmly into ‘risk off’ mode as the week ends, as initial disappointment with today’s miss on non-farm payrolls turns into something more serious,” IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
“Things could look very different once US traders return from their long weekend, especially if the view prevails that a weak NFP or two will push back the tapering move from the Fed,” Beauchamp added.
Notable movers included shares of Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO), which rose more than 1% after the chip maker’s third-quarter earnings exceeded expectations.
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9.45am: US benchmarks start in the red
US benchmarks started lower on Friday after a disappointingly low monthly jobs report spooked investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 60 points at 35,383 in early New York deals.
The S&P 500 shed around seven points at 4,529. The tech-laden Nasdaq index dropped around 34 points to stand at 15,296.
The non-farm payroll report showed just 235,000 jobs were added in August against expectations of a 720,000 increase as workers still haven’t returned to work amid the pandemic and labor shortages abound.
But the unemployment rate for the month dropped again - to 5.2% from 5.4%. Commentators also pointed to the fact that the last full month of summer can be notoriously difficult to predict and the first jobs report often underestimates the figure.
"Hiring in August slowed sharply as rising Covid cases and hospitalizations made consumers and businesses more cautious," noted analysts at investment giant ING.
"The more positive spin would be that the underlying fundamentals are in good shape with businesses clearly wanting to hire, but they are struggling to find staff. Either way a September Fed taper looks unlikely."
8.45am: Big jobs miss
US stock futures pared earlier gains and pointed to a mixed start on Friday after the latest US jobs data widely missed expectations.
US non-farm payrolls grew by just 235,000 in August, way below forecasts for 720,000 jobs to be added, while the jobless rate fell to 5.2% as expected.
The weak jobs report offered more evidence on the extent to which the coronavirus (COVID-19) Delta variant is affecting the US labor market recovery.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade commented: "Today’s US NFP number was wild, and it missed the expectations by a huge margin. Looking at the data it is pretty much clear now that the September isn’t going to be a live meeting. The US labour market still has a long way to go to recover the lost ground.
"In terms of the price action, the dollar index has plunged, and this has boosted the gold price. It is clear that the dominant trend for the gold price is going to the upside. Equity traders are still trying to digest the news and it will take some time for them to fully understand the data. But given the fact that the market is addicted to loose monetary policy, the Fed is unlikely to tighten their monetary policy belt."
6.50am: Jobs data the key
US stocks are expected to open modestly higher on Friday ahead of the August non-farm payrolls report, which will indicate the strength of the recovery in the US labor market.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%, while those for the broader S&P 500 rose 0.2%, with the index having hit another record close on Thursday. Futures for the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 added 0.1%.
The latest monthly jobs data, due at 9.30am ET, is expected to show that the US economy added 720,000 jobs in August and that the unemployment rate fell to 5.2%. The numbers could influence the Federal Reserve’s timetable for scaling back stimulus policies that have supported markets during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Think Markets commented: "With Jerome Powell and several other Fed officials more or less confirming that tapering QE could start before the end of the year, investors are speculating that the US central bank may announce the timeline of the process at the FOMC’s November meeting.
"Until then, the Fed will have three more jobs reports to consider before publishing its plans. As such, today’s jobs report will be scrutinised very closely by the markets, and we may very well see some big moves in reaction to the data.
"Now the market has had enough time to digest the Fed’s slow build up to the eventual reduction of QE. This means that tapering QE is no longer going to surprise the market, at least not in a meaningful way anyway. The Fed has also been very clear that interest rates will not necessarily rise immediately after tapering is completed."
The IHS/Markit US services sector PMI activity survey for August is also due out today, at 9.45am, as well as the Institute for Supply Management services index at 10.00am.
Five other things to watch on Friday:
Broadcom Inc. forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations after-hours on Thursday, betting on strong demand for its semi-conductors from the adoption of 5G technology and a shift to hybrid work models.
Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. have said they are curtailing production further in the latest examples of how a computer chip shortage continues to affect automakers.
A US national labor agency is investigating two charges against tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). filed by employees, records on its website show, amid a wave of worker activism at a company known for its secretive culture, Reuters reported.
Current and former executives of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies LLC will personally pay as much as $7 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties to settle a long-running dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, the firm said, a tax settlement that may be the largest in history, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc (NASDAQ:JD) s real estate unit has made an about HK$3.99 billion ($513.45 million) offer to buy a controlling stake in storage facilities manager China Logistics Property Holdings, the companies said in a joint exchange filing on Friday, Reuters said.