With disappointing employment data adding to recent concerns about the overall economic outlook, stocks continue to see considerable weakness going into the final hour of trading on Friday.
The major averages are currently posting notable losses, with the Nasdaq back near its worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 75.61 points or 0.6 percent at 12,172.94, the Nasdaq is down 28.27 points or 1 percent at 2,745.04 and the S&P 500 is down 8.92 points or 0.7 percent at 1,304.02.
Before the start of trading, the Labor Department released a report showing much weaker than expected job growth in the month of May as well as an unexpected uptick in the unemployment rate.
The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added just 54,000 jobs in May, far lower than the 170,000 predicted by most economists and well short of the gains averaging 220,000 over the previous three months.
Additionally, the report showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged up to 9.1 percent in May from 9.0 percent in April.
While much of the recent economic data suggested that the job numbers were likely to come in below economist estimates, the report still generated considerable selling pressure amid a lack of other major catalysts on the day.
At the same time, the selling pressure was moderated to some extent by the release a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing an acceleration in the pace of growth in the service sector.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index, which tracks activity in the service sector, rose to 54.6 in May from 52.8 in April, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Economists had been expecting the index to rise to a reading of 54.0.
Sector News
Telecom stocks have shown a notable move to the downside over the course of the trading day, dragging the NYSE Arca North American Telecommunications Index down by 1.7 percent. The index is on pace to end the day at a nearly one-month closing low.
American Tower (AMT) has helped to lead the sector lower, falling by 4.4 percent. The loss by American Tower comes after the cellular tower operator said it received a subpoena from the SEC requesting documents related to its tax accounting and reporting.
Significant weakness also remains visible among healthcare provider stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss being shown by the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider Index. Community Health Systems (CYH) and Universal Health Services (UHS) are turning in two of the sector's worst performances.
Transportation, semiconductor, and tobacco stocks are also posting notable losses on the day, reflecting the broad based selling pressure in the markets.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday amid uncertainty about the U.S. jobs report. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets saw notable volatility over the course of the trading day. The German DAX Index eventually ended the session up by 0.5 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index closed nearly flat.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength, well off their earlier highs. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3 basis points at 3.00 percent after hitting a nearly six-month intraday low of 2.948 percent.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.