Stocks Lower After Low Jobs Numbers Stoke Slowdown Fears

FRIDAY – Stocks fell on Friday after the U.S. government released employment data that badly missed expectations, adding to growing concerns that the global economy may be slowing down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 215 points as Caterpillar and Chevron lagged. The S&P 500 fell 0.8 percent as the energy and tech sectors both dropped more than 1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.1 percent.

The U.S. economy added just 20,000 jobs in last month, marking the weakest month of jobs creation since September 2017. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 180,000.

Treasury yields fell along with futures. The benchmark 10-year rate dipped to 2.619 percent while the 2-year yield traded at 2.45 percent.

Equities were on track to post rare weekly losses. The major indexes were all down more than 1.9 percent entering Friday’s session. The Nasdaq was on pace to snap a 10-week winning streak, while the Dow was set to notch its second weekly decline of the year.

The weekly decline comes amid growing fears that most of the positive news on the U.S.-China trade front may be baked in. At this point, most investors expect the two countries to strike a trade deal later this month. There are also worries that a deal may not be sure thing.

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