Stocks fell on Friday after government data showed more than half a million jobs were added in January, way above expectations and weighed on investor sentiment that the Federal Reserve will begin to ease the pace of interest rate hikes in the near-term.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Despite Friday's losses, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both posted gains for the week, rising 1.6% and 3% , respectively. However, The Dow underperformed, dipping 0.15% for the week.
Taking centerstage on Friday, nonfarm payrolls increased by 517,000 for January, well above consensus estimates of 187,000 from Dow Jones and December's gains of 260,000, according to the Labor Department's report. The unemployment rate also fell to 3.4%, marking its lowest percentage since 1969.
Wall Street's recent rally was helped fueled by sentiment that the Fed would reverse its rate hiking campaign sometime this year as inflation begins to ease in some parts of the economy. However, the resilient labor market proves that the central bank may need to stay on course.
Also in the spotlight, Apple
Apple shares rose after falling earlier in the session as the tech giant missed top and bottom line estimates. The company said its disappointing revenue was due to headwinds from COVID-related lockdowns and protests at Foxconn's manufacturing facility in China. Moreover, iPhone sales fell 8% year-over-year to $65.8 billion, also missing estimates.
Amazon shares fell despite posting better-than-expected sales growth in the fourth quarter as the e-commerce giant's profit disappointed. The company's AWS segment also grew 20% year-over-year, but still fell short of Wall Street estimates.
Google-parent Alphabet shares also slipped lower as its quarterly results missed on both revenue and earnings, due mostly to declining advertising revenue. CFO Ruth Porat said in a statement that the search engine giant is currently working to "improve all aspects of our cost structure, in support of our investments in our highest growth priorities to deliver long-term, profitable growth."
Beyond Big Tech, Ford
Nordstrom