In early morning trading on December 17 (Beijing time), U.S. stocks continued to decline in late Tuesday trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping approximately 350 points. The November nonfarm payroll report showed the unemployment rate hitting its highest level since 2021, while October's job additions saw a significant contraction.
The Dow fell 347.01 points, or 0.72%, to 48,069.55; the Nasdaq Composite slipped 7.92 points, or 0.03%, to 23,049.49; and the S&P 500 declined 28.42 points, or 0.42%, to 6,788.09. All three major U.S. stock indices closed lower on Monday, primarily dragged down by declines in key artificial intelligence-related stocks. Broadcom dropped 5.6% at Monday's close, software firm ServiceNow plunged 11.5%, and Oracle declined 2.7%. Microsoft shares also closed lower as investors continued taking profits from the strong AI-driven rally and rotated into other sectors such as healthcare and utilities.
Despite this, U.S. equities remain on track for a positive year, with all eleven sectors of the S&P 500 poised to finish higher. Chris Verrone, Head of Technical and Macro Research at Strategas, noted: "I believe there's still some upside potential in market sectors tied to the real economy over the next four to six months." He added: "The sectors showing early signs of inflection have demonstrated this. Where are we seeing expansion to new highs? Industrials, financials, consumer discretionary, and materials. This gives a very real-economy feel."
Investors digested the closely watched November nonfarm payroll report released Tuesday morning. The delayed data showed the U.S. economy added 64,000 jobs in November, following a revised loss of 105,000 positions in October. The report's release was postponed due to the government shutdown. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September, marking the highest level since 2021. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was unable to report October's unemployment rate due to data collection disruptions caused by the shutdown. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 45,000 job additions, significantly below September's 119,000 gain. They also projected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.5% from September's 4.4%. The figures indicate continued weakness in U.S. job growth alongside rising unemployment, suggesting sustained cooling in the labor market following October's particularly soft performance.
Separate data released Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales were flat in October, primarily weighed down by sluggish auto and gasoline sales. Unadjusted for inflation, retail sales showed no growth in October, with September's figure revised up to a 0.1% increase. Excluding autos and gas stations, retail sales rose 0.5%.
ADP reported Tuesday that U.S. private sector employment grew by an average of 16,250 jobs per week in the four weeks ending November 29. Preliminary estimates from ADP Research and the Stanford Digital Economy Lab showed this four-week average compared with ADP's previously reported November job loss of 32,000. The weekly employment data project launched on October 28.
The November Consumer Price Index will be released on Thursday.
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