NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks ended the week on a gloomy note on March 8, as investors assessed the latest US employment report and chipmaker Nvidia slumped.
The broad-based S&P 500 retreated 0.7 per cent to 5,123.69, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.2 per cent to 16,085.11.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.2 per cent to 38,722.69.
The movements came after Department of Labour data showed that hiring remained solid in February even as the unemployment rate crept up and wage gains cooled.
The world’s biggest economy added 275,000 jobs last month, an unexpected acceleration after January’s figure was revised significantly lower.
The jobless rate edged up to 3.9 per cent, the highest since early 2022 but still relatively low.
Overall, the performance “fit the market’s soft landing narrative,” said Briefing.com, referring to a situation where inflation eases without a major downturn.
Officials have been walking a fine line trying to fight inflation by lifting interest rates, without causing a major blow to the economy.
Mega cap stocks gave back early gains “due to consolidation activity, weighing on index performance,” Briefing.com added.
Among individual companies, Nvidia shares fell 5.6 per cent.
Shares of Broadcom, another US chipmaker, also dropped 7 per cent. AFP
