4.00pm: Stocks flounder at the end of the week
Wall Street lost any momentum from earlier in the week to close in the red on Friday.
The S&P 500 closed down around 0.8% at 4,538 points. The tech-dominated Nasdaq lost 296 points, or 1.9% to drop to 15,085 points, while the Dow fell 0.2% or 60 points, to close at 34,580 points.
1.00pm: Wall Street faces tech rout
Modest early gains on Wall Street gave way to a technology-stock rout after the US jobs report renewed expectations that the Federal Reserve will end stimulus early next year.
The S&P 500 lost around 1.2%, dragged down by shares of tech companies. The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite lost 331 points, or 2.2% to drop to 15,049. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45%.
“The week is ending on a sour note for equities, which remain in thrall to the potential spread of the Omicron variant and are also sulking in the wake of a poor non-farm payroll figure,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, an online brokerage firm.
“Growth fears are taking center stage across markets, as a slowing recovery threatens to put more pressure on stocks after a strong year for the headline indices,” he added.
Meanwhile, analysts at Dutch multinational banking and financial services ING Group (NYSE:ING) noted that labor supply simply isn't returning quickly enough, and for companies desperate to hire this is a huge problem.
“The implication is that it constrains growth and pay is bid higher, with those cost increases likely passed onto consumers,” added analysts at ING.
9.45am: Proactive North America headlines:
Elon Musk sells US$1bn worth of Tesla shares after exercising further options
Revive Therapeutics expands research with Bucillamine as potential treatment for Omicron variant
Great Atlantic Resources intersects high-grade quartz veins and visible gold at its Golden Promise project in Newfoundland
Harbor Custom Development acquires 438-acre master planned community near Vancouver, B.C. for $14M
LexaGene closes multiple MiQLab sales as it makes good progress in sales cycle
KetamineOne subsidiary KGK Science helps its client Hofseth Biocare receive New Dietary Ingredient status from US FDA
American Manganese poised to strengthen its global patent portfolio with latest filing
Context Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CNTX) reports 3Q results during a “pivotal” period for the company
9.40am: US stocks start on front foot
Shares in New York started Friday higher as investors digested disappointing jobs growth data for November and considered the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) news.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained around 144 points to stand at 34,784. The broader-based S&P 500 added 29 points at 4,606. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite added around 57 points at 15,483.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 last month compared to a gain of 546,000 in October, showing a slowing jobs market even before the new coronavirus variant threat appeared.
That said, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, a 0.4% decline and the labor force participation rate increased in November to 61.8% - the highest level since March, 2020.
"Investors are clearly still anxious about the Omicron variant for obvious reasons, despite anecdotal evidence suggesting symptoms are less severe," noted senior market analyst Craig Erlam at Forex firm Oanda.
"Higher levels of transmission are a worry but ultimately it will come down to the effectiveness of vaccines, which is the overriding concern currently,"
"Heading into the weekend when we could get more information on the new strain, it's natural that we're seeing more caution.
"A slew of negative data releases over the course of the morning doesn't help lift sentiment and may be behind the gradual reversal we've seen in European markets," he added.
8.45am: Jobs data below forecast
US stock futures rallied higher ahead of the open after US non-farm payrolls rose by only 210,000 in November, well below forecasts, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%.
Payrolls were expected to have expanded by 550,000 in November after gains of 531,000 in October
The US economy appeared to have rebounded over the past couple of months from a summertime slowdown caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) Delta variant and supply-chain disruptions.
But now the Omicron variant threatens to slow that momentum, and another surge in cases could make people nervous about leaving the house to work or shop, resulting in slower economic growth.
In an initial reaction, Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade commented: "Aggressive tapering is out of the window and that is the simple explanation of the data. As a result, the gold price has soared massively and Bitcoin has also surged. The US equity futures have also moved higher on the back of this data as traders are feeling a little more comfortable."
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to be 0.3% higher, while those for the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.4% and contracts for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 added 0.6%.
6.30am: US stocks seen opening lower
US stocks are expected to open lower on Friday following a volatile week for equities as investors await the latest non-farm payrolls (NFP) data, due for release ahead of the market open.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.27% in pre-market trading, while the broader S&P 500 index shed 0.31% and those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.31%.
Stocks closed higher on Thursday in a sharp rebound a day after the new coronavirus (COVID-19) variant Omicron drove investors into a massive sell-off.
The Dow Jones rose by 619 points, or 1.82%, to 34,640 while the S&P 500 jumped 1.4% to 4,577 and Nasdaq Composite increased 0.83% to 15,381.
“Investors are coming back into some oversold names, suggesting they are seeing some buying opportunities if Omicron is not as bad as feared,” commented Neil Wilson, chief market analyst from Markets.com.
Wilson noted that "reopening" stocks led the way with big gains for the likes of Delta Airlines, Wynn, Carnival and Norwegian Cruises, suggesting investors thought some of the moves against stocks tied to travel were overdone this week. Strong banks and energy stocks also assisted the Dow’s gains.
“Today’s data sheet focuses on the US non-farm payrolls report; however the Fed’s recent hawkish pivot and acknowledgement of inflation risks mean the labour market is not the key to guessing monetary policy going forward," Wilson added.
NFPs are expected to have expanded by 550,000 in November from gains of 531,000 in October. The data is due for release at 8:30am Eastern Time.