By Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on April 25, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stock futures fell Friday after a stronger-than-expected May jobs report sent yields higher and dashed hopes the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 143 points. Nasdaq-100 futures ticked down by 0.3%, while S&P 500 futures slipped 0.4%.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury soared nearly 14 basis points to 4.42%.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 272,000 in May, above the 190,000 estimate from Dow Jones and April’s 175,000. Average hourly wages increased 0.4% last month and ticked up 4.1% from a year ago. However, even with the job gains the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4%.
Investors had been hoping for weak jobs figures that would give the Fed the green light to cut rates, but not so dim as to indicate a recession.
“This blockbuster NFP makes it harder for the Fed to move towards a cut in rates,” said Giuseppe Sette, president of Toggle AI. “The next few months will be interesting as the Fed will have to tussle with the the stronger performance of the US economy, limiting its ability to follow the example of the ECB and cut.”
The jobs report comes after the European Central Bank on Thursday cut rates for the first time since 2019, adding pressure to the Fed to potentially lighten up on policy.
The Fed will give its decision on rates next week after its June 11-12 policy meeting.
Chipmaker and artificial intelligence darling Nvidia slipped roughly 2% in premarket trading. Technology stocks including Apple, Meta Platforms and Alphabet traded marginally lower.
All three of the major averages are on pace for a winning week. The Dow has a 0.52% gain, while the S&P 500 is higher by 1.43% and the Nasdaq is on pace for a 2.62% advance.
