Stocks down after jobs reportMajor gauges dip as investors bet that strong payrolls growth, rise in average hourly earnings mean Fed policy makers will sit tight for now.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped at the open Friday as investors bet that a strong December jobs report means the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates as soon as has been hoped The Dow Jones industrial average (down 39.34 to 12,441.35, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (down 5.73 to 1,412.61, Charts) index both lost about 0.4 percent in the early going. 
The Nasdaq (down 17.08 to 2,436.35, Charts) composite slipped 0.7 percent. Tech shares rallied Thursday, boosting the Nasdaq and helping the Dow stabilize at the end of a choppy session. After that run, tech stocks were hit the most Friday, as investors weighed the implications of a stronger-than-expected employment reading. Employers added 167,000 jobs to their payrolls in December, from an upwardly revised 154,000 in November, the government reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 100,000 jobs would be added. The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, held steady at 4.5 percent, as expected. Average hourly earnings, the report's inflation aspect, rose 0.5 percent from an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in November and more than what analysts were expecting. Overall, the report confirmed other recent readings that showed the economy is slowing, but not heading for recession, and that inflation is perhaps not moderating enough for the Fed to start cutting rates just yet. Treasury bond prices slipped, boosting the corresponding yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.68 percent from 4.60 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. U.S. light crude oil for February delivery rose 25 cents to $55.84 a barrel in electronic trading. Oil prices have slumped over the last two sessions. In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and slipped versus the yen. |
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