Highlights
Stocks dropped Friday to end a down week with broad losses as investors recoiled from weaker than expected jobs report and tougher than expected tariffs from President Trump. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.2 percent, the S&P 500 fell by 1.6 percent, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.2 percent. US Treasury yields, the dollar and oil prices all sank.
A gloomy jobs report featuring a smaller than expected rise in payrolls for July and big downward revisions to previous months put the economy in a much bleaker light and suggested the tariff shock was having a much more dire effect than investors understood. President Trump's latest tariff blitz unveiled Thursday came as another shock to the global economy and to financial market sentiment as the so-called reciprocal tariffs were bigger and more sweeping than expected. Reaction to the latest earnings reports were also mixed with Apple and Amazon both selling off despite earnings and revenues beats.
Among sectors, consumer discretionary was among the worst performers, along with technology, information services, plus financials and energy.
Definition
Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.
Description
Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.