Wall Street today: US stocks slip after jobs data, Amazon drops 3.6% | Stock Market News

Wall Street today: US stocks slip after jobs data, Amazon drops 3.6% | Stock Market News

Source: Live Mint

US stock indices slipped on Friday after the weak jobs data and a consumer sentiment survey.

At 10:06 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 70.38 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 44,677.25, the S&P 500 lost 11.84 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 6,071.73 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 108.18 points, or 0.55 per cent, to 19,683.82.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.9 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 44762.57. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 6083.13​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 17.1 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 19774.867.

The Labor Department data showed the United States added fewer jobs than expected in January while unemployment ticked down.

Total US employment rose by 143,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than the revised 307,000 figure in December.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary index on consumer sentiment for February came in at 67.8, compared to a forecast of 71.1.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose 5 basis points to 4.48 per cent.

Gainers and losers

Shares of Amazon.com dipped 3.6 per cent due to weakness in the retailer’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, and lower-than-expected forecasts for first quarter revenue.

Pinterest stock soared 17.5 per cent after the image-sharing platform forecast first quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates.

Microchip Technology stock lost 3.7 per cent after the chipmaker forecast fourth quarter net sales and profit below estimates.

Elf Beauty stock shed 23.3 per cent after the company cut its annual sales and profit forecasts.

Bullion

Gold prices rose on Friday as escalating trade tensions between the US and China prompted investors to seek refuge in the safe-haven asset.

Spot gold gained 0.6 per cent to $2,873.63 per ounce as of 09:33 am ET (1433 GMT). US gold futures added 0.7 per cent to $2,897.50.

Spot silver rose 0.7 per cent to $32.41 per ounce.

Crude oil

Oil prices rose on Friday after new sanctions were imposed on Iran’s crude exports.

Brent crude futures were up 42 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $74.71 a barrel at 1300 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 39 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $71 a barrel.



Read Full Article