“U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report sent interest rates higher,” Fred Imbert and Silvia Amaro report for CNBC. “The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 600 points, with Exxon Mobil sliding 6.5 percent. The 30-stock index also fell below 26,000. Friday also marked the first time since June 2016 that the Dow fell at least 500 points. The S&P 500 fell 2 percent, with energy as the worst-performing sector. The Nasdaq composite declined 1.7 percent as a decline in Apple and Alphabet offset a strong gain in Amazon shares.”
“The U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists polled by Reuters expected growth of 180,000. Wages, meanwhile, rose 2.9 percent on an annualized basis,” Imbert and Amaro report. “The report sent interest rates higher. The benchmark 10-year yield rose to 2.85 percent on the back of the report, hitting a four-year high. Investors have been jittery about the recent rise in interest rates, worrying they may be rising too fast.”
“‘The reaction in the bond market is due to the rise in average hourly earnings,’ said James Ragan, director of individual investor group research at D.A. Davidson. ‘I think the market is now thinking of the possibility that the Fed could raise rates four times this year rather than three.’ The Federal Reserve has forecast three rate hikes for 201,” Imbert and Amaro report. “Exxon Mobil reported weaker-than-expected earnings on Friday, sending its stock lower. Tech giant Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results. But the stock fell 4 percent after the company said it expects profit margins of 38 percent to 38.5 percent, tighter than the expected 38.9 percent. Apple also reported lighter-than-expected iPhone sales for its previous quarter.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “Lighter-than-expected iPhone sales” by those who failed to realize that they were comparing a 14-week Q417 to a 13-week Q418 or who are intentionally misrepresenting Apple’s results because they’re shorting the stock.
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” ― Warren Buffett
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