US Stock Market Falls as Employment Indicators Disappoint

The three major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) fell on the 6th (local time) after the US jobs report for August fell short of expectations. Artificial intelligence (AI) leader Nvidia plunged 4%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 43,454.11, down 410.34 points (1.73%) from the previous day on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index closed at 5,408.42, down 94.99 points (1.73%) from the previous day, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 16,690.83, down 436.83 points (2.55%) from the previous day.

The S&P 500 index fell 4.3% for the week, marking the first time since March 2023 that the S&P 500 index fell more than 4% for the week, a period of 1 year and 6 months.

The decline in the three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange was driven by investors’ disappointment with the employment indicators. The US Department of Labor announced that nonfarm payrolls in the US increased by 142,000 in August compared to the previous month.

Although the increase in employment was larger than the previous month, it fell short of market experts’ forecast of 161,000. The unemployment rate was 4.2%, down from 4.3% in July, meeting market expectations.

Several major stocks experienced significant declines, including Nvidia, which fell 4.1%, Amazon, which fell 3.7%, Metadata, which fell 3.2%, and Alphabet, which fell 4.02%. Broadcom, which announced earnings guidance that fell short of market expectations the previous day, plunged 10.36%.

According to Emily Rolland, chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, “The market was weak today due to uncertainty over the economy. However, the market was also shaken by the possibility that a rate cut could be good news for the market.”