Stocks Hit by Tech Crisis While Bonds Rise on Job Day: Markets Pack

(Bloomberg) — Stocks were hit by a technology sell-off, while bonds rose in a volatile session as a mixed jobs report left investors wondering whether or not the Federal Reserve will make a super-large interest rate cut in September.

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Wall Street bets on a half-point Fed cut this month faded again — after briefly gaining momentum when Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he was “open-minded” about the potential for a bigger rate cut. The prevailing view on trading desks everywhere is that the labor market is indeed weakening, but it is not currently weak enough to warrant aggressive action by officials.

In theory, that would be “good news” for stocks, as the Fed may not need to be hasty. However, the mixed jobs data came on a day when the S&P 500’s most influential group — technology — is under intense pressure, thanks in part to Broadcom Inc.’s weak outlook.

“Financial markets have focused their attention on how much the Fed will ease and how quickly the economy will slow,” said Scott Wren of the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “Expect volatility to persist in the near term.”

The S&P 500 fell 1.7%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%. The yield on ten-year government bonds fell by four basis points to 3.69%

Some of the most important moves in the markets.

Stocks

• The S&P 500 was down 1.7% as of 12:06 a.m. New York time

• The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.7%

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%

• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.1%

• The MSCI World Index fell 1.4%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%

• The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1078

• The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3123

• The Japanese yen rose 0.7% to 142.41 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 3.6% to $54,054.1

• Ether fell 3.4% to $2,286.29

Bonds

• The yield on ten-year government bonds fell by four basis points to 3.69%

• The German ten-year yield fell by four basis points to 2.17%

• The British ten-year yield fell by three basis points to 3.89%

Raw materials

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $67.60 a barrel

• Gold fell 0.8% to $2,496.30 an ounce

This story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation.

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