US equity markets ended the trading week on the downside despite better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls data.
Data released on Friday showed that the US economy added 315,000 jobs last month, beating economists’ median estimate of 298,000 jobs. However, the US unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, missing the 3.5% level forecast by economists. Wages are up 5.2% yoy and up 0.3% since July.
However, all gains evaporated amid renewed concerns about the Nord Stream pipeline. Russian energy giant Gazprom, originally scheduled to resume natural gas flow through the pipeline to Germany on September 3, said on Friday it would delay the resumption, claiming that an inspection at a compressor station had discovered leaks.
All three major indices posted their third straight weekly loss, with the Dow down about 3% and the S&P 500 down about 3.3%. Markets in the US were closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday.
That Nasdaq100 down 1.44% to close at 12,098.44 on Friday amid a decline apple inc AAPL and Meta Platforms, Inc. META shares. That S&P500 fell 1.07% during the Dow Jones declined 338 points to 31,318.44 in the previous session.
majority of sectors in the S&P 500 ended on a lower note, with communications services and real estate stocks posting the biggest declines on Friday. However, the energy sector bucked the broader market trend, gaining around 1.8% in the previous session.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 0.35% to close at 25.47 points on Friday.
What is the CBOE Volatility Index?
The CBOE Volatility Index, popularly known as the VIX, is a measure of stock market volatility expectations based on call and put options of the S&P 500 index options.
