[New York Close] Dow Falls Amid Job Market Worries... Dow Temporarily Surpasses 29,000 for the First Time Ever

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Kim Bongsu] The US New York stock market fell on the 10th (local time) despite easing tensions between Iran and the United States, due to concerns about the US employment market.

On that day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 28,823.77, down 133.13 points (0.46%) from the previous trading day. The Dow index had risen, breaking through the 29,000 mark for the first time during the session, but turned downward amid concerns over the deterioration of the US employment market. The S&P 500 index also ended the day down 9.35 points (0.29%) at 3,265.35, and the Nasdaq index fell 24.57 points (0.27%) to 9,178.86.

However, the major indices of the New York stock market maintained a generally solid upward trend this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices rose 0.9% and 1.8% respectively this week, while the Dow also increased by 0.7%.

The New York stock market wavered on this day due to weaker-than-expected employment data. The US Department of Labor announced that 145,000 new jobs were added in December, falling well short of Wall Street’s forecast of 160,000. The wage growth in December was also 2.9% year-on-year, less than the expert forecast of 3.1%. This was the first time since July 2018 that the year-on-year wage growth rate did not exceed 3%.

The subdued atmosphere in the New York stock market on Friday contrasted with the earlier part of the week when tensions between Iran and the US fluctuated dramatically, heating up the market. The Dow index fell about 200 points on the 6th but recovered, then plunged more than 100 points the next day as the Middle East crisis escalated following Iran’s missile attacks on two US military bases in Iraq. On the 8th, US President Donald Trump emphasized that there were no American casualties and stated that "Iran is backing down," announcing a policy to strengthen economic sanctions instead of military retaliation, which eased tensions and led to a sharp rise in the New York stock market on the 9th.

The New York stock market also gained momentum as it became clear that the US and China would sign the 'Phase One Trade Agreement' on the 15th. Investors are valuing this as the first step toward resolving the nearly two-year-long trade conflict between the two countries.

International oil prices continued their decline for the fourth consecutive trading day. On that day at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for February delivery closed at $59.04 per barrel, down 0.9% (52 cents). This marked a 6.4% drop for WTI this week, the largest decline since July last year. Brent crude for March delivery on the London ICE Futures Exchange was trading at $64.93 per barrel at 3:30 p.m., down 0.67% (44 cents) from the previous day. As concerns over military conflict between the US and Iran have eased, international oil prices have continued to decline.

International gold prices rose slightly. On that day at the New York Commodity Exchange, February delivery gold closed at $1,560.10 per ounce, up 0.4% (5.80 dollars) from the previous day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.