US Stocks fall as July jobs report stokes rate hike worries

The US stocks moved mostly down on Friday, 05 August 2022, with the NASDAQ and the S&P500 indexes settling below the unchanged line after a solid jobs report weighed on tech and related stocks, while the Dow index managed to hold gain line on a jump in banking and energy stocks.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index inclined 76.65 points, or 0.23%, to 32,803.47. The S&P500 index was down by 6.75 points, or 0.16%, to 4,145.19. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index decreased by 63.03 points, or 0.5%, to 12,657.55. For the week, the Nasdaq surged by 2.2% and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.4%, while the Dow edged down by 0.1%.

The weak finish of the Wall Street came as investors reacted to the Labor Department's closely watched July jobs report, which showed employment in the U.S. jumped by much more than expected 528,000 jobs in the month of July, after surging by an upwardly revised 398,000 jobs in June. With the stronger than expected job growth, the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged down to a pre-pandemic low of 3.5% July from 3.6% in June.

The jobs report flagged an uptick in wage pressures that will likely keep inflation elevated, and gives the Federal Reserve the green light to continue front-loading rate hikes without causing a recession.

Two-year U.S. Treasury yields , which are sensitive to Fed rate hikes, jumped to its highest level in nearly two months. The 10-year yield also soared, rising more than 6%.

Technology and related stocks fell as U.S. Treasury yields extended their rise after the report. Shares of Tesla Inc and Amazon.com were down 2.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

Oil-related stocks saw significant strength, e as crude oil for September delivery rose $0.47 to $89.01 a barrel after falling to the lowest levels since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Banking stocks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, meanwhile, led financials higher as rising rates tend to support lending margins.

Block Inc fell 2.8% as the digital payments company reported a loss in quarterly results on waning interest in crypto-currencies.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS added 0.79% to $20.31, Dr Reddy's Labs added 0.42% to $52.66, Azure Power Global added 0.5% to $11.54, WNS Holdings added 0.1% to $86.15, HDFC Bank added 0.61% to $62.81, and ICICI Bank inclined 2% to $21.21. Wipro fell 0.36% to $5.48 and Tata Motors fell 1.2% to $29.22.

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