Wall Street heads lower ahead of jobs report

Bond yields steady as investors digest weak labour data

NEW YORK:

US stocks headed lower and Treasury yields halted their plunge on Thursday, as investors digested weak labour market data and looked to Friday’s jobs report for signs the Federal Reserve’s restrictive policy could be edging the economy closer to recession.

All three major US stock indexes were red, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on course to snap three-week winning streaks at the conclusion of the holiday-shortened week. On Friday, a market holiday, the Labour Department is due to release its March employment report, and market participants will have the weekend to digest the data before Monday’s opening bell.

“We have had a few days in a row of weak economic data,” said Tom Hanlin, national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management. “The question is, are we seeing a slowing economy? Will the Fed continue to raise interest rates, and will this result in a recession this year?”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7^th, 2023.

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