Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq sink amid jobs report surprise, fresh inflation worries

US stocks plunged on Friday as investors digested the ultimate jobs report of 2024. The information blew past expectations on hiring, raising more uncertainty concerning the path of rates of interest this yr.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) sank about 1.6%, or near 700 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) also fell 1.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) tumbled 1.6%. The three major gauges erased all year-to-date gains with Friday’s pullback.

The Dow lost 1.1% for the week, the S&P gave up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq decreased by 0.6%.

The December nonfarm payrolls report showed a really healthy labor market: The US economy added over 250,000 jobs within the month, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. That is the excellent news. The less excellent news is that the strong reading could prompt the Fed to maintain rates higher for longer, some on Wall Street consider.

The ten-year Treasury yield (^TNX) continued a recent uptick on Friday, moving closer to 4.8% to the touch its highest levels since late 2023.

DJI – Delayed Quote USD

41,938.45 (-1.63%)

At close: 4:20:00 PM EST

^DJI ^IXIC ^GSPC

Investors were also hit with fresh data that showed consumers are more pessimistic about future pricing pressures. In keeping with a latest reading Friday from the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, year-ahead inflation expectations rose from 2.8% last month to three.3% this month. The present reading is the best since May 2024. Long-run inflation expectations also ticked up from 3% in December to three.3% in January.

In recent days, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other officials have made it clear they’re slowing down on lowering rates. Amid that tone and after the roles showing, markets are pricing in no easing before July, per the CME FedWatch Tool.

Meanwhile, investors welcomed a clutch of upbeat earnings to begin the yr. Walgreens (WBA) posted a primary quarter profit beat, an indication the healthcare company’s turnaround efforts are paying off. Shares rose over 20%. Delta (DAL) stock jumped greater than 9% after a record yr for travel fueled a fourth quarter profit beat and record annual revenue. The massive banks are scheduled to post earnings next week.

LIVE 13 updates

  • Stocks sink as Wall Street pushes back rate cut expectations

    Wall Street traders have pushed back the prospects of one other rate cut from the Fed, after a surprisingly strong jobs report flashed signs that the economy is humming along.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) sank about 1.6%, or near 700 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) also fell 1.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) tumbled 1.6%. The three major gauges erased all year-to-date gains with Friday’s pullback.

    The Dow lost 1.1% for the week, the S&P gave up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq decreased by 0.6%.

    Meanwhile, The ten-year Treasury yield (^TNX) continued an uptick on Friday, moving closer to 4.8% to the touch its highest levels since late 2023.

    Some on Wall Street have even rekindled conversations of a possible rate hike this yr, especially as shifts in economic policy could reverse or stall progress on easing price pressures.

  • Hamza Shaban

    A take a look at the week ahead

    Fresh jobs data Friday threw the Fed’s rate of interest policy back into the highlight. Signs of a sturdy labor market shut the door on a rate cut to begin the yr. And it pushed back expectations of 2025’s first cut from May to July, in line with the CME Fedwatch tool.

    But strong jobs data is barely a part of the equation. Next week investors will get a fresh check on inflation. Wednesday will bring CPI data and potentially more signs that a hold on rate cuts will probably be the Fed’s position for a while.

    On the company front, the large banks are on deck to post quarterly results. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC), and Morgan Stanley are set to report, offering insights into credit conditions and spending heading into the brand new yr.

    Yahoo Finance’s Brent Sanchez has a graphical breakdown of what to look at next week:

  • Hamza Shaban

    Supreme Court justices express skepticism at TikTok’s appeal to dam a ban

    TikTok is having its day in court. The Chinese-owned social media company delivered oral arguments on Friday in a bid to overturn the law that is about to ban the corporate from operating within the US unless it finds a latest owner.

    The high court could issue a choice before Trump is sworn into office on Jan. 20 or put the law on hold.

    In initial reports of the oral arguments, several Supreme Court justices seemed more sympathetic to the federal government’s case, that TikTok presents a national security threat due to its ties to the Chinese government. And justices appeared to forged doubt on TikTok’s position, that the corporate is being singled out in an assault on free speech protections.

    A ruling from the Supreme Court to uphold the ban could possibly be a boon for TikTok’s social media rivals by redistributing promoting dollars to platforms like Meta (META).

  • Hamza Shaban

    Stocks trending in afternoon trading

    Listed below are a number of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during afternoon trading on Friday:

    Delta Air Lines (DAL): Shares of the main airline rose after exceeding analyst expectations for each revenue and earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter, capping off a record-breaking revenue yr in 2024. Delta shares rose greater than 8% Friday afternoon.

    Nvidia (NVDA): The AI chipmaker fell Friday together with other chip names after a December jobs report pushed out expectations for extra rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and ahead of an expected chip export restriction from the Biden administration. Nvidia stock fell greater than 2% in afternoon trading, while industry peer AMD (AMD) fell over 4%.

    Meta (META): The social media company rose 3% Friday afternoon following the conclusion of oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the fate of TikTok’s US operations. The competitor to Facebook and other US-based social media sites is on target to be banned Jan. 19 unless its Chinese parent company sells TikTok. Initial reporting on the Supreme Court case indicated a majority of justices appeared able to uphold the ban.

    Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA): The pharmacy chain surged nearly 30% Friday afternoon after beating Wall Street estimates on its adjusted earnings per share and sales for the primary quarter of fiscal yr 2025, whilst questions remain about its future as a public company. The corporate reported $39.5 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 7% from the identical quarter last quarter and above Bloomberg consensus estimates of $37.3 billion.

  • Hamza Shaban

    Dow falls 600 points as hopes of an rate of interest cut fall

    A surprisingly strong December Jobs report dashed hopes that the Fed will cut rates of interest anytime soon as signs of a sturdy economy feed right into a posture of “higher for longer” on the US central bank.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) sank about 1.6%, or over 600 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) tumbled 1.8%. The three major gauges erased all year-to-date gains with Friday’s pullback.

    Odds of a rate cut in March fell to around 25% following the information release, down from about 44% a day ago, in line with the CME Fedwatch tool.

    Fed officials have already expressed concern with sticky inflation, giving them more reasons to approach rate of interest policy with caution. Alongside pricing pressure expectations from the trade and immigration policies of the incoming Trump administration, the newest data likely spells an extended period with no rate cuts.

  • Dani Romero

    Homebuilder stocks down after strong jobs report puts damper on rate cut hopes

    Homebuilder stocks sank because the stronger-than-expected jobs report raised investor concerns that rates of interest will remain higher for longer this yr.

    The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) fell nearly 2% Friday. DR Horton (DHI), the largest US homebuilder; Lennar (LEN); and PulteGroup (PHM) dropped roughly 1%, 2%, and 1%, respectively.

    High mortgage rates have kept many potential homebuyers and sellers on the sidelines. The speed on 30-year mortgages has been inching closer to 7% for the fourth consecutive week, according Freddie Mac.

    Following the newest jobs report, markets at the moment are anticipating no Fed easing before July, per the CME FedWatch Tool. While the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, its decisions influence them.

    Builders have also been under pressure from rising material and labor costs, with the newest employment picture showing a slowdown in construction job growth. Data from the Labor Department showed that construction firms added 8,000 jobs in December, down from 10,000 jobs added in November.

  • For stocks, a laundry list of gloom

    The blowout jobs report is the largest perpetrator for stocks getting hammered without delay — with an assist from worries about inflation.

    But within the background, a laundry list of other worries is adding to the gloom. A rundown of just a few:

    And essentially the most unsettling of all: uncertainty about Trump’s sweeping policy agenda and its impact, especially tariffs.

  • Ines Ferré

    Oil touches $80 per barrel as latest sweeping sanctions sends prices soaring

    Oil jumped to as much as $80 per barrel, a three-month high on Friday as traders digested latest sweeping energy sanctions by the US against oil producer Russia.

    West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) rose as much as 4% to rise above $77 per barrel, while Brent crude futures (BZ=F), the international benchmark price briefly hovered just above $80 per barrel.

    Greater than 180 vessels, insurers, and top Russian energy executives, in addition to two major oil firms, were all named within the sanctions announced on Friday morning.

    “The US is taking sweeping motion against Russia’s key income for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a press release.

    Oil prices were already on an upward trend coming into 2025 with traders on edge over President-elect Donald Trump’s policy toward producer Iran. Tehran currently produces greater than 3 million barrels of crude per day.

    “News continues to filter in a couple of Trump [administration’s] hard stance on Iran that will come in a short time,” Dennis Kissler, senior vice chairman at BOK Financial, wrote in a note to clients on Friday.

    “Add within the Freezing temps across many of the US, together with shrinking storage numbers, and crude has now grow to be a latest ‘fund favorite,'” he added.

  • Hamza Shaban

    Hot jobs report cements a Fed rate hold this month

    A hot jobs report makes it much more likely the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates at its first meeting of the yr in January — or for the foreseeable future, as more evidence surfaces of a powerful economy, reports Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger.

    “I feel they’re done here,” Blake Gwinn, the pinnacle of US rates strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told Yahoo Finance on Friday.

    “That January cut was already nearly dead before this print,” Gwinn added. “Now we’re that March print” — ahead of the Fed’s second meeting of 2025.

    Fed officials were already concerned about signs of persistent inflation, citing that as a reason to maneuver cautiously in 2025, together with expectations that the trade and immigration policies of the brand new Trump administration might provide more upward pressure.

    Read more concerning the Fed’s next policy move here.

  • Alexandra Canal

    Venu Sports is not any longer

    Venu Sports, the planned sports streaming service from Disney’s ESPN (DIS), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Fox (FOXA), will now not make a debut.

    “After careful consideration, we’ve got collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports three way partnership and never launch the streaming service,” the three firms said in a joint statement on Friday.

    “In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to satisfy the evolving demands of sports fans by specializing in existing products and distribution channels.”

    The move caps off a wild week for Venu after FuboTV (FUBO) settled all litigation related to the debut earlier this week. The news and sports streamer had filed an antitrust lawsuit against the platform’s launch last yr.

    The settlement coincided with an announcement that Fubo, a web TV bundler, would join forces with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business. Individually, Disney will roll out an ESPN flagship streaming service service this fall.

    Fubo stock popped around 10% in early trading on Friday after surging 250% Monday on the heels of the Disney deal announcement. Fox and WBD shares fell on the news. Disney’s stock traded flat.

  • Hamza Shaban

    Stocks sink as hot jobs report slashes hopes of a rate cut

    The “higher for longer” narrative just got a dose of strength on Friday.

    The nonfarm payrolls report showed a really healthy labor market: The US economy added over 250,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. On its face, that is excellent news. However the fresh data also fed right into a dilemma for Wall Street: A robust reading could prompt the Fed to nudge rates higher.

    US stocks pulled back on the open as investors digested the ultimate 2024 jobs report, which blew past expectations on hiring, raising more uncertainty when the following rate cut will come.

    Nasdaq GIDS – Delayed Quote USD

    19,161.63 (-1.63%)

    At close: 4:56:36 PM EST

    ^IXIC ^DJI ^GSPC

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped roughly 0.5%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) shed 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.9%, leading declines as the main gauges arrange for weekly losses.

  • Myles Udland

    US labor market finishes 2024 on a high note

    The US economy added 256,000 jobs in December, essentially the most in nine months and almost 100,000 greater than Wall Street had expected because the labor market finished 2024 on a surprisingly high note.

    In December, the unemployment rate also fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. Revisions showed the unemployment rate never reached the high of 4.3% reported initially in November.

    Friday’s report saw Treasury yields rise as investors proceed to keep off expectations for Fed rate cuts in 2025, with no cuts expected now before June. Stock futures turned lower following the report.

  • Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.

    It’s jobs day.

    Earnings: Constellation Brands (STZ), Delta (DAL), Tilray (TLRY), Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)

    Economic news: Nonfarm payrolls report, unemployment rate (December)

    Compensate for some stories you’ll have missed:

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