US Stocks Turn Lower After Jobs Report; Dow Dips 200 points

U.S. stocks turned lower toward the end of trading on Friday, following the release of jobs report for August.

The Dow traded down 0.65% to 31,452.20 while the NASDAQ fell 1.03% to 11,663.71. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.71% to 3,938.80.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares jumped by 1.6% on Friday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included HighPeak Energy, Inc. HPK, up 9% and Borr Drilling Limited BORR up 10%.

In trading on Friday, communication services shares fell by just 1.8%.

Top Headline

The U.S. added 315,000 jobs last month, beating average economist estimates of 298,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate increased to 3.7%, missing the 3.5% level economists had projected. Wages were up 5.2% year-over-year and increased 0.3% from July.

Equities Trading UP

• Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd. HOLI shares shot up 14% to $19.38. A consortium led by China's Hollysys Automation Technologies’ management aims to take the U.S.-listed automation and control system maker private in a deal at a $1.8 billion valuation, Reuters reported.
• Shares of PaxMedica, Inc. PXMD got a boost, shooting 62% to $5.68. PaxMedica Executive Chairman, Director Michael Derby reportED in Form4 filing the purchase of 95,000 shares at $5.25 per share.
• United Maritime Corporation USEA shares were also up, gaining 14% to $1.3850 after the company announced a $3 million buyback plan.

Equities Trading DOWN

• PolyPid Ltd. PYPD shares tumbled 74% to $1.39 after the company announced its SHIELD I study did not achieve its primary endpoint of reduction in surgical site infections and mortality.
• Shares of Shuttle Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. SHPH were down 74% to $13.40 amid post-IPO volatility.
• Calavo Growers, Inc. CVGW was down, falling 14% to $36.03 after reporting downbeat Q3 earnings.

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Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 0.2% to $86.79, while gold traded up 0.8% at $1,722.40.

Silver traded up 1.1% to $17.865 on Friday while copper fell 0.1% to $3.4050.

Euro zone

European shares closed higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 2.04%, London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.86%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index surged 1.62%. The German DAX climbed 3.33%, French CAC 40 climbed 2.21% and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index jumped 2.91%.

Producer prices in the Eurozone surged 4% month-over-month in July, recording the biggest increase in four months. The number of people registered as unemployed in Spain climbed by 40,428 month-over-month to 2.92 million in August. Germany’s trade surplus narrowed to €4.9 billion in July from €17.8 billion in the year-ago period.

Economics

• The U.S. added 315,000 jobs last month, beating average economist estimates of 298,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate increased to 3.7%, missing the 3.5% level economists had projected. Wages were up 5.2% year-over-year and increased 0.3% from July.
• U.S. factory orders dropped 1% month-over-month in July.
• The total number of active U.S. oil rigs fell by 9 to 596 rigs this week, Baker Hughes Inc reported.

Check out this: Fear & Greed Index Moves To 'Fear' Zone Ahead Of US Jobs Report

COVID-19 Update

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 96,465,120 cases with around 1,072,120 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 44,442,500 cases and 527,930 deaths, while France reported over 34,547,840 COVID-19 cases with 154,130 deaths. In total, there were at least 608,971,030 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 6,499,070 deaths.