Dow Jones Falls on Weak Jobs Report and Rising Energy Costs
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower on Monday, August 10th, falling 0.11% to 53,975.98 after a surprising weak US jobs report offset by a fresh rise in crude oil prices tied to Strait of Hormuz uncertainty.
Friday's rally, where the blue-chip average added 151.83 points or 0.28%, was weighed against market expectations for near-term Federal Reserve interest rate increases. The data reduced these expectations, which has broadly supported blue-chip equities even as Monday's session closed in negative territory.
Nvidia and Apple, both closely watched bellwethers for the broader technology sector, dropped 2.9% and 1.5% respectively, while Intel fell 4% after announcing a $15 billion common stock offering. Energy-linked Dow components found some support from the firmer crude oil backdrop, providing a partial offset to the technology-led weakness.
The upcoming release of US inflation data this week is likely to be a more significant near-term catalyst than any single earnings report for the index's next directional move. Investors will now focus on this week's Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index releases, due Wednesday and Thursday respectively, which are expected to shape the rate-expectations narrative.