US Treasury Yields Dive to 10-Week Low, Equities Slump
Stocks gave up early gains and government bond yields dropped in midday trading after November’s employment report showed the economy added fewer than half the number of jobs that the market had anticipated.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 34,467.11, with the S&P 500 down 1.2% and Nasdaq Composite 2.5% lower.
Technology, consumer discretionary, and financials were among the worst performers, while consumer staples and utilities led gainers. The 10-year US Treasury yield dived 6.9 basis points to 1.38%, the lowest level in about two-and-a-half months.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 210,000, below the 550,000 jumps anticipated in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, while October payrolls saw an upward revision to 546,000. The poll was carried out over Nov. 7-13, two weeks before the omicron variant of the coronavirus was reported.
“This is disappointing,” Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief Economist Ian Shepherdson said in a note, pointing to weakness across the services sector.
However, Shepherdson continued to believe the Fed will announce a faster tapering on Dec. 15, “unless the scientific news on the omicron variant over the next couple weeks is disastrous.”
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose by $0.3 to $66.77 a barrel, after trading up to more than $1 earlier in the session.
On Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers led by Russia agreed to stick to their joint policy of 400,000 barrels per day of monthly supply increases.
US recently piled pressure on the world’s largest oil cartel to continue adding supply to keep oil and gasoline prices from spiralling higher.
The World Health Organization reportedly said Friday that omicron has been detected in 38 countries, up from 23 two days ago, with early data suggesting the strain is more contagious than delta.
In the metals markets, gold was up 1.1% to $1,781.90. Silver was also up 0.7% to $22.47 an ounce while copper was down 1% to $4.26 per pound. # US Treasury Yields Dive to 10-Week Low, Equities Slump
