The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply on Friday as August’s hotter-than-expected payrolls reading increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its next meeting.
The 30-stock index let go of 272.51 points to close Friday at 53,413.60
The S&P 500 sank 29.35 points to 7,718.36.
The NASDAQ Composite retreated 77.07 points to 26,506.99.
However, the Dow headed for a drop of 0.27% this week. The S&P 500 came out on the week slightly above breakeven, while the NASDAQ gained 0.4% gain.
Non-farm payrolls grew 162,000 last month, much more than the 53,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones expected.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, as expected. On top of last month’s gain, figures for both June and July saw upward revisions.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were slightly lower, raising yields to 4.78% from Thursday’s 4.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices let go of a penny to $91.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices wobbled $57.50 to $4,482.40 U.S. an ounce.
