Stocks pointed downward on Friday, even with the S&P 500 headed for a winning week as optimism about a short-term debt ceiling deal trumped a disappointing jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials slid 69.91 points, or 1%, to 34,685.03,
The S&P 500 dipped 1.84 points to 4,397.92
The NASDAQ Composite doffed 6.08 points to 14,647.93.
Still, the major averages are all solidly in the green for the week, with the Dow and S&P 500 up more than 1% since Monday.
There was something for both bears and bulls in Friday’s jobs report, which explains the gyrations in futures following the release. The headline number was a major disappointment as the economy added just 194,000 jobs in September, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported.
On the positive side, the unemployment rate itself fell to a much lower point than economists forecast. At 4.8%, that’s the same level seen in late 2016. Plus, August’s jobs report miss was also revised up to 366,000 compared to the initial read of 235,000.
A bleaker labour picture could stall the Federal Reserve, as it prepares to slow its $120 billion-per-month bond-buying program.
Wall Street is also preparing for third-quarter earnings season, which kicks off next week.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys lost ground, raising yields to 1.60% from Thursday’s 1.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices picked up $1.29 to $79.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $17.00 to $1,776.30 U.S. an ounce.