The last day of the trading week saw the Dow complete its first two week losing streak since February. The possibility of a Federal Reserve rate hike in June also suffered a big hit today as the April jobs report fell well below analysts’ estimates. In April, the U.S. economy added 160,000 jobs, far below economist predictions of 202,000. Before April’s employment report came out, the market estimated a 10% chance of a June rate hike by the FOMC, but those odds now stand at 6%. Weak U.S. economic growth may be making some employers more cautious about hiring.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, wrote in a research note:
“By adding to signs that economic weakness is lingering into the second quarter, these disappointing numbers greatly reduce the likelihood of the Fed hiking rates this side of the presidential election.”
See more (below) from CNBC as to why, despite today’s poor April jobs report, the market experienced gains today.
Meanwhile the April jobs report could spark a bull rush on the gold market. Watch below.
Here are the final numbers from Friday, May 6th on Wall Street:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,740.63 (+79.92 / +0.45 %)
NASDAQ: 4,736.15 (+19.06 / +0.40 %)
S&P 500: 2,057.14 (+6.51/ +0.32%)
