U.S. Stocks Open Lower After Strong Jobs Report Stokes Fed Rate Fears

© Reuters.

By Liz Moyer

AiVIF.com -- U.S. stocks opened lower after a much stronger than expected July jobs report raised alarms that the Federal Reserve would continue its aggressive interest rate increases.

At 9:42 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 125 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 1%.

July nonfarm payrolls rose 528,000, more than double the 250,000 expected, while the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5% from 3.6%, where it had been since April. 

Normally a strong report on jobs would be reason to cheer, and investors have lifted stocks in recent weeks amid strong earnings reports. But Wall Street betting odds now favor another three-quarter point rate increase in September, when some expected in recent days that the Fed might ease back.

The central bank policymakers will meet later this month at an annual conference and then have their policy meeting in September. They will have the chance to see more economic data, including inflation data, before that.

Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) shares rose nearly 3% after the travel booking site reported strong travel demand, helping it beat expectations. Lodging revenue rose nearly 60%.

LYFT Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) shares jumped 6% after the ride-hailing app said ridership was the highest it’s been since before the pandemic, another positive sign of routines returning to normal.

Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) shares tumbled 16% after the newly combined media company reported a $3.4 billion loss for the quarter. Restructuring and transaction costs weighed on the bottom line. Streaming growth also slowed.

Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 0.5% to $88.22 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude was down 0.4%, to $93.72 a barrel. Gold Futures was down 1.1%, to $1,786 an ounce.