US stocks drop as signs of a still-tight labor market raise fears the Fed will stay hawkish into 2023
- US stocks closed lower on Thursday, snapping a win streak of three consecutive gains.
- Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected, signaling the labor market may still be tight.
US stocks closed lower on Thursday, snapping a win streak of three consecutive gains, amid indications the labor market remains too tight for the Federal Reserve's liking.
Unemployment filings climbed to 216,000 last week, the Labor Department reported, below analyst forecasts of 222,000.
"Strong economic data, especially strong labor market data, keeps the Fed's foot on the economic brake," Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, told Reuters. "The Fed doesn't just want or need to see lower inflation. They believe that, in order to bring it down and keep it down sustainably, you're going to need to see more weakness in the labor market which would come with more weakness in the economy."
Markets have been hard pressed to truly swallow the prospect of continued Fed hawkishness, continuing to present bouts of optimism such as the market rally early this week.
Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:30 p.m. ET close on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 3,822.41, down 1.44%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,027.49, down 1.05% (348.99 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 10,476.12, down 2.18%
Here's what else happened today:
- UBS said the stock market has yet to truly price in the risk of a recession next year.
- Billionaire David Tepper said he is going short on the market into 2023 over the Federal Reserve's continued hawkishness.
- Guggenheim Partners chief investment officer and founding managing partner Scott Minerd died on Wednesday at 63.
In commodities, bonds and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.48% to $77.92 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, shed 0.95% to $81.43
- Gold slipped 1.41% to $1,788.67 per ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year Treasury declined 1.1 basis points to 3.673%.
- Bitcoin climbed 0.25% to $16,666.53