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. The yield on the 10-year Treasury surged Friday as investors assessed a strong nonfarm payrolls number for May that fueled concerns that the Federal Reserve may not cut rates as soon as expected. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped 14 basis points to 4.422%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last at 4.862% after rising by 14 basis points. Yields and prices have an inverted relationship. Asia-Pacific stocks were mixed on Friday as investors looked at economic data from China and digested Japan’s household spending numbers, with markets also assessing the European Central Bank’s rate cut. China’s May exports beat expectations, climbing 7.6% against the 6% expected by a Reuters poll of economists and vastly higher than the 1.5% rise seen in April. Imports climbed 1.8% year on year, missing the 4.2% expected in a Reuters poll. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index reversed earlier gains to fall 0.75% after the trade data announcement, with the mainland Chinese CSI 300 falling 0.50% to close at 3,574.11. This marked three straight days of losses for the mainland index. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.05% to 38,683.93, while the broad-based Topix fell marginally to close at 2,755.03. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.23%, ending at 2,722.67 as investors returned from a public holiday, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.81% to finish at 866.18. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.49%, marking a three day winning streak. Oil prices rose on Friday, continuing to climb after OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia and Russia indicated readiness to pause or reverse output agreements and as an interest rate cut in Europe raised the prospect of a similar U.S. move. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents or 0.2% to $80.03 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 16 cents or 0.2% to $75.71 as at 0007 GMT. Gold prices fell more than 1% on Friday after the latest U.S. job numbers and data that showed China’s central bank paused gold purchases in May. Spot gold last fell 2.36% to $2,319.49 per ounce. U.S. gold futures dropped 2.24% to $2,337.40.
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