US Markets on 8 March: Dow & Nasdaq End Lower After Mixed Jobs Report
US Markets, 8 March 2024: The US stock markets opened cautiously on Friday, as investors digested mixed job reports for February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) opened slightly lower by 14.55 points at 38776.80, while the S&P 500 index made a positive opening of 7.1 points and opened at 5164.46. The Nasdaq Composite index also opened higher by 48.72 points at 16322.10.
US Markets Live Updates Today
At 11.20 a.m. EDT, Dow Jones turned positive soon after opening and traded higher by 96.18 points or 0.25 percent at the 38887.53 level while the S&P 500 traded slightly higher by 5.61 points or 0.11 percent at 5162.97 levels. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite trimmed most of its early gains and is trading edge higher by 12.66 points or 0.08 percent at 16286.04 levels.
US Market News
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes trimmed early gains, while the Dow Jones rebounded after opening lower. Investors shrugged off the concerns that the American economy added more jobs than expected in February. The eagerly awaited February job report showed that the number of jobs added was 275,000 compared with an expectation of 198000 by the economists polled by Dow Jones.
The unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9%, and wage growth declined marginally in February. The report revised January’s job growth lower. The sentiments were upbeat despite the mixed job reports as it indicates that Federal Reserves can control inflation without causing any big damage to the economy.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of rate cuts in June is 78% from 65% recorded 8 days back. The 10-year Treasury yield is flat at 4.087% after hitting the day’s low at 4.041%.
US Stocks in News
The share price of Nvidia is gaining around 4% in the session and is up by around 15% in the week. Apple stock is up over 1%, snapping its longest losing streak since early 2022.
The shares of Meta Platform and Alphabet are trading higher by 1% and 2% respectively, while Tesla is down over 1%.
On the earnings front, Costco’s shares fell more than 6% as the retailer missed the second-quarter revenue expectations. Meanwhile, the share of Gap is up around 4% after the fashion retailer beat fourth-quarter estimates.
Crude Oil Prices
On Friday, the crude oil prices are trading slightly lower, on concern about the oversupply. According to the International Energy Agency, the oil market to have enough supply in 2024, and anticipate demand growth to slow down.
The US WTI crude trades slightly lower by 0.54% at $78.50 per barrel while London-based Brent crude oil is down by 0.49% at $82.55 per barrel.
US Markets at Close
The US stock market indexes gave up all intraday gains and closed lower on Friday, as investors assessed the mixed job report, showing more jobs were created in February, while the unemployment rate came slightly higher. Nvidia slipped more than 5% on stock split speculation and dragged the other tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed lower by 68.66 points or 0.18% and ended at 38722.69, while the S&P 500 index gained 33.67 points or 0.65% and settled at 5123.69. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up by 188.26 points or 1.16% and finished at 16085.11.
Also, read – Global Stock Markets Surge on Expectations of Interest Rate Cuts
If you like the post “US Markets on 8 March: Dow & Nasdaq End Lower After Mixed Jobs Report” please share it with others
Happy Investing!
Editor’s Desk
