Hot U.S. jobs report sinks stocks

Allan Tong Posted On January 10, 2025

The week ended on a sharp sell-off after the latest U.S. jobs report came in hotter than expected. The December unemployment rate unexpectedly fell from 4.1% from 4.2% to reflect a robust economy. However, this news stirred fears of rising inflation and, as a consequence, that the U.S. Fed will delay cutting interest rates this year or even raising them. Stocks sank across the board with the S&P closing -1.54%, the Nasdaq and Dow both -1.63%, and the TSX -1.22%. All the indices closed negatively for the week with the S&P -0.7%, the Nasdaq -0.62%, the Dow -1.07% and the TSC -1.22%.

Once more, Nvidia was the most influential name, finishing -3%, Apple -2.41% and AMD -4.76%. Constellation Energy soared 25.16% on news it was buying a geothermal and natural gas power generator, while Walgreens rocketed 27.55% on strong earnings. Similarly, Aritzia jumped 19.07% after reporting earnings. Elsewhere, Suncor gained 2.94%, Brookfield Corp. -5.86%, Capstone Copper -5.85% and Tilray -12.06%. Gold continued to climb, adding US$25 to US$2,692, WTI rallied another 3.7% to US$76.65, and Bitcoin advanced about 3% to US$94,800. Given all the talk about inflation, the U.S. 10-year-yield leapt to 4.765%, levels last seen in late 2023.