Jobs, Apple worries weigh on Wall Street
Wall Street closed lower on Friday after a report of slowing US labour market growth, and all three major indexes posted weekly losses as investors braced for more possible downside surprises a day after disappointing earnings from Apple. Apple's shares fell 4.8 percent, its biggest daily percentage decline since September 29, 2022 that dented the S&P 500 by about 16 points the day after the iPhone maker forecast a continued slide in sales. A partial counterweight to Apple for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq was Amazon.com. Its shares rose 8.3 percent the day after the online retailer issued an upbeat third-quarter outlook. "Those big bellwether companies really have the potential to cause investor jitters even though overall the trajectory and direction of both the economy and corporate earnings seems to be positive moving into August," Said Greg Bassuk, chief executive officer of AXS Investments in New York. The trading session was choppy, with the indexes rising in the morning, then wavering before turning negative. Bassuk said Friday's decline was "more about investors resetting and positioning for potential downside surprises". The Labor Department reported that US employers added 187,000 jobs in July. Data for June additions was revised lower to 185,000 jobs, from 209,000 reported previously. Shares of other big tech companies, Microsoft and Snowflake rose 0.3 percent and 3.5 percent respectively after Amazon's cloud business segment beat sales estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.43 percent, to 35,066, the S&P 500 lost 0.53 percent, to 4,478 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.32 percent, to 13,915. The weekly percentage declines for the S&P and Nasdaq were the biggest since March, with some investors taking profits after five months of gains due to economic data, disappointing earnings and rising Treasury yields. Carl Icahn-owned investment firm Icahn Enterprises shed 23.3 percent. The company halved its quarterly payout, months after short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of operating a "Ponzi-like" structure to pay dividends. Fortinet tumbled 25.1 percent after the cybersecurity firm cut its annual revenue forecast as spending from enterprise clients remained tight amid a turbulent economy. Shares of Tupperware, known for its plastic airtight storage containers and bowls, rallied 35.5 percent after the company finalized an agreement with its lenders to restructure its debt obligations in an effort to turn around the business. (Reuters)