- Nonfarm Payrolls in December increased by 145,000 vs 164,000 expected.
- Falling US Treasury bond yields drag Financials Index lower.
- Crude oil prices fall for fifth straight day to continue to hurt energy shares.
Wall Street’s main indexes started the last day of the week with small gains but seem to be having a difficult time making a decisive move in either direction. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged on the day a little below the critical 29,000 mark while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.18% and 0.24%, respectively.
The data published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that Nonfarm Payrolls in December rose 145,000 following November’s impressive reading of 256,000 and fell short of the market expectation of 164,000. Moreover, Average Hourly Earnings dropped to 2.9% on a yearly basis from 3.1%.
Among the 11-major S&P 500 sectors, falling US Treasury bond yields and crude oil prices continue to force the Financials Index and the Energy Index stay in the negative territory. On the other hand, the Healthcare Index and the Technology Index are both up 0.4% in the early trade.
Share
