01.08.202520:01:27UTC+00Wall Street Tumbles as Labor Data Disappoints

The US stock market experienced a sharp decline on Friday as investors responded to a disappointing jobs report for July, coupled with the announcement of new tariffs by President Trump. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw their most significant declines since April, dropping by 1.6% and 2.2%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 542 points. The payroll count increased by a mere 73,000 for July, significantly lower than anticipated, and prior months were revised downward, indicating a more pronounced weakness in the labor market. Treasury yields decreased, and the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September rose to over 80%. Investor sentiment further deteriorated following the imposition of new tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on imports from major partners, including Canada, India, and Taiwan. In the corporate sector, Amazon's shares plummeted nearly 8% due to unsatisfactory cloud computing forecasts, which impacted the technology sector negatively, while Apple shares dropped 2.9% despite posting strong earnings results. Energy giants ExxonMobil and Chevron exceeded expectations, although their shares moved by -1.8% and -0.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly's shares rose by 3% on optimistic drug coverage prospects, and Moderna's shares fell by 6.6% due to concerns over vaccine developments. All three major indices recorded losses for the week.