US benchmark equity indexes dropped Friday after data showed the economy added fewer jobs than projected in January, while a survey pointed to surging inflation expectations among consumers.
The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.4% to 19,523.4, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 lost 1% each to 44,303.4 and 6,026, respectively. Among sectors, consumer discretionary saw the steepest decline, while energy was little changed. No sector closed higher.
For the week, the Dow and the Nasdaq decreased 0.5% each, while the S&P 500 shed 0.2%.
In economic news, total nonfarm payrolls in the US rose by 143,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The consensus was for a 175,000 increase, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
"With inflation progress having stalled in recent months and heightened uncertainties on how far the new administration will go on tariffs, the [Federal Reserve] is likely to remain more cautious on rate cuts and hold the policy rate steady until sometime this summer," TD Economics said.
US consumer sentiment reached its lowest level since last July, while year-ahead inflation expectations hit the highest since November 2023, preliminary results of a February survey by the University of Michigan showed. The survey indicated concerns regarding the negative impact of the Trump administration's tariff policy.
Earlier this week, China announced a series of retaliatory tariffs against the US. The Trump administration paused planned tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month after negotiations.
President Donald Trump intends to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week, Reuters reported Friday.
The US two-year yield increased 7.7 basis points to 4.29%, while the 10-year rate added 5.1 basis points to 4.49%.
In company news, Amazon.com (AMZN) shares fell 4.1%, the second-steepest decline on the Dow and the Nasdaq and among the worst on the S&P 500. The e-commerce and technology giant late Thursday logged stronger-than-expected Q4 results, though its revenue outlook for Q1 fell short of Wall Street's estimates.
Elf Beauty's (ELF) shares plummeted nearly 20% Friday. The cosmetics company lowered its fiscal 2025 outlook late Thursday.
Expedia (EXPE) shares jumped 17%, the best performer on the S&P 500. The company late Thursday delivered a Q4 beat and reinstated a quarterly dividend.
Uber Technologies (UBER) was among the top gainers on the S&P 500, up 6.6%. Investor Bill Ackman said Friday that his Pershing Square hedge fund owns 30.3 million shares of the ride-hailing giant.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 0.5% to $70.94 a barrel Friday. Prices rose following new sanctions on Iran's crude exports, D.A. Davidson said in a note to clients.
Gold increased 0.3% to $2,886.40 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.2% to $32.24 per ounce.
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