Stock Market Today – 5/8: Stocks lower after stronger-than-expected jobs data

Updated at 4:15 PM EDT

US stocks ended mixed on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report sparked renewed fears about inflation and rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell 6.75, or 0.16%, to 4,145.19. The Dow Industrials rose 76.65, or 0.23%, to 32,803.47. The Nasdaq composite fell 63.03, or 0.5%, to 12,657.55.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the week slightly higher, while the Dow fell slightly for the period.

Updated at 10:30 am EDT

US stocks fell slightly on Friday after a key report showed the economy added more than double the number of jobs economists had expected.

The data comes ahead of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes designed to cool inflation.

“Despite two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction in the first half of the year, these robust labor market numbers argue strongly against talk of a recession,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said in a communicated

At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.08%, the S&P 500 was down 0.61% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.36%.

US government debt prices fell after the jobs data. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.676% and the 30-year Treasury yield rose to 3.09%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Investors saw the nonfarm payrolls report as providing additional clues about how the labor market is holding up to the Fed’s recent inflation-fighting rate hikes and the corresponding slowdown in growth.

The The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added 528,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% from 3.6%. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 258,000 new jobs to be added to the economy last month after June’s increase of 372,000.

Many market watchers were looking for signs that the US labor market would allow the Fed to scale back its aggressive rate hikes. The economy has remained resilient despite rising rates and the corresponding slowdown in economic growth.

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Reduction of jobs

Still, companies as varied as Walmart (WMT)- Get the Walmart Inc. reportAmazon (AMZN)- Get the Amazon.com Inc. reportTesla (TSLA)- Get the Tesla Inc. report and Robinhood (HOOD)- Get the Robinhood Markets Inc. report layoffs are already planned.

And economists expect to see more job losses from construction, technology, retail and finance companies, among others.

Inflation continued to rise in June, with a 9.1% increase in the consumer price index.

In corporate news, Virgin Galactic shares (SPCE)- Get the Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. report ended down 17% after the space tourism company said it had delayed the start of its commercial flights by another three months, citing delays in renovation work on its transport planes.

Virgin Galactic announced that commercial service will be delayed to the second quarter of 2023, the latest setback for the debut of its space tourism business. The company had previously pushed back the date from the fourth quarter of this year to the first quarter of next year.

AMC Entertainment (AMC)- Get the AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc Class A report Meanwhile, the stock reversed course to end the day with a strong gain, up 19%, after the stock meme mascot declared a special dividend in the form of “Ape” preferred shares.

The theater chain said it would issue a special dividend of one unit of AMC preferred stock for each share of Class A common stock outstanding at the close of business on Aug. 15. The special dividend is expected to be paid at the close of business on August 19.

AMC has applied to list the preferred equity units on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol APE, effective August 22. The symbol is a nod to the investors who turned the company into a meme stock; they often refer to themselves as “monkeys” or “ape nation”.

Discovery of Warner Bros (WBD)- Get the report from Warner Bros. Discovery Inc shares fell 16.5% after the media giant posted a loss, posting its first earnings report since Discovery merged with WarnerMedia earlier this year.

Lyft shares, on the other hand (LYFT)- Get the Lyft Inc. report it finished 16% behind ride-sharing competitor Uber (UBER)- Get the report from Uber Technologies Inc reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter adjusted operating results thanks to cost-cutting and belt-tightening.

Lyft on Thursday posted second-quarter adjusted operating profit of $79.1 million, well ahead of its own projection three months ago and Wall Street forecasts. Lyft still posted a wider net loss of $377.2 million compared to a year earlier.

DoorDash (DASH)- Get the DoorDash Inc. Class A report shares ended up 1.3% after the delivery app company reported higher revenue in the latest quarter as consumers narrowed their orders to food and household staples despite the reopening of restaurants and shops.

DoorDash also raised full-year guidance for the total value of orders placed on its platform, though it said it expects “a softer consumer spending environment” in the second half of the year.

caravan (CVNA)- Get the Carvana Co. Class A report shares soared 40% after the online used car dealer said it is aggressively cutting costs as consumer demand remains under pressure and the company faces the prospect of an economic downturn.

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About the Author: Chaz Cutler

My name is Chasity. I love to follow the stock market and financial news!