Stocks slide after weak September jobs report

NEW YORK, New York -- U.S. stocks plunged on Friday after the Labor Department reported an increase of 263,000 non-farm payrolls in September, pushing the unemployment rate down to 3.5 percent below expectations.

With this jobs report, it seems clear that we are on course for another significant hike from the Fed, with the market pricing in a 75 bps rise in interest rates at its next meeting, according to Paul Craig, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors.

The U.S. dollar kept buyers of other currencies away.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the American economy added 263,000 jobs in the month of September, and the unemployment rate fell to a more than 50 year low of 3.5 percent, according to U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

The secretary noted that 10 million jobs had been added since President Biden took office, with the last 3 months averaging a monthly increase of 370,000.

September saw strong growth in healthcare professions, food and drinking establishments, professional and business services, and steady, continuing gains in manufacturing and construction. Healthcare jobs have recovered fully from the pandemic lows thanks to this report. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent, the lowest rate ever recorded, Walsh said.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped by 420.91 points or 3.80 percent to 10,652. The Dow Jones dropped 630.15 points or 2.11 percent to 29,296. The Standard and Poor's 500 retreated 104.86 points or 2.80 percent to 3,639. The U.S. dollar flexed its muscles Friday on the back of rising bond yields and the strong jobs report. The euro fell sharply to 0.9727. The British pound fell to 1.1078. The Japanese yen fell well below the intervention level of 145.38 last week. The Swiss franc was shunned at 0.9948.

The Australian dollar was much lower at 0.6361. The German Dax fell 1.59 percent on overseas equity markets. The Paris-based CAC 40 was down 1.17 percent. The FTSE 100 fell 0.09 percent in London.

The Australian All Ordinaries fell by 57.40 points or 0.82 percent to 6,976. In New Zealand, the S&P NZX 50 dropped 23.41 points or 0.19 percent to 11,103. The Kospi Composite fell 2.91 points or 0.13 percent to 2,234 in Seoul, South Korea. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong went 272.10 points or 1.51 percent to 17,740.