US markets end deeply in red as strong jobs data raises interest rate concerns

11 Jan 2025 Evaluate

The US markets ended deeply in red on Friday as strong jobs report casted doubt over Fed’s rate-cut path. A closely watched report released by the Labor Department showed employment in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of December. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged by 256,000 jobs in December after jumping by a downwardly revised 212,000 jobs in November. Street had expected employment to climb by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 227,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. The stronger-than-expected job growth partly reflected notable increases in employment in the healthcare and social assistance and leisure and hospitality sectors as well as a rebound by employment in the retail sector.

The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in December from 4.2 percent in November. Street had expected the unemployment rate to come in unchanged. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly seen a modest deterioration in the month of January, according to preliminary data released by the University of Michigan. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index edged down to 73.2 in January from 74.0 in December. Street had expected the index to inch up to 74.5. The unexpected dip by the headline index reflected a decrease in consumer expectations, with the index of consumer expectations falling to 70.2 in January from 73.3 in December.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 696.75 points or 1.63 percent to 41,938.45, Nasdaq dropped 317.25 points or 1.63 percent to 19,161.63 and S&P 500 was up by 91.21 points or 1.54 percent to 5,827.04. 


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