Stocks Decline As Investors Digest Better-Than-Expected Jobs Data

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Stock Market Wall Street
Stock Market Wall Street

Stock futures slumped Friday as investors swallowed hotter-than-anticipated jobs data, worrying investors hoping for signals that the Federal Reserve can slow down interest rate hikes.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 383 points, or 1.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 1.4% and 1.9%.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 263,000 in November, a more significant gain than the 200,000 increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.

“The supply of workers remain low, the demand for workers remains high,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. “That means wage inflation will remain sticky and that’s a problem for stocks going forward because it’s likely to keep the Fed hawkish rather than dovish.”

Friday’s is the final monthly employment report before the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting on Dec. 13 and 14, in which the central bank is expected to raise its fed funds target rate by a half percentage point. A 50 basis point increase would mark a slowing from the prior 75 basis point rate hikes set by the central bank.