NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – In the tension between positive economic signals and concerns about faster tightening of monetary policy, the Dow Jones Industrial hardly moved on balance on Friday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq exchanges, however, closed weak again. Although the US economy created far fewer jobs than expected in December, the unemployment rate, which continued to fall, returned to pre-crisis levels.
The Wall Street index Dow ultimately went down 0.01 percent to 36,231.66 points. Despite a strong start to the year, the best-known Wall Street index fell by 0.3 percent in the first week of trading.
The S&P 500 fell 0.41 percent on Friday to 4677.03 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.10 percent to 15,592.19 points. It lost a strong 4.5 percent in the first week of trading. Investors in technology stocks worry that rising interest rates could slow the momentum in the growth sector.
The official job report was awaited with great interest after the very strong data from the private service provider ADP on Wednesday. It was again weaker than forecast in terms of job creation, but “against the background of the unemployment rate falling to 3.9 percent and the strong wage increases, the US Federal Reserve should be confirmed in the faster pace it has decided to reduce bond purchases see,” commented economist Ralfcircul from Helaba./ck/he
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