[New York Close] Adjustment Close Despite Strong Employment

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York stock market showed weakness despite better-than-expected strong employment data. Although all three major indices recorded all-time highs until the previous day, a clear correction was seen on this day.

On the 7th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 277.26 points (0.94%) to close at 29,102.51, the S&P 500 index dropped 18.07 points (0.54%) to 3,327.71, and the Nasdaq index declined 51.64 points (0.54%) to finish at 9,520.51.

The New York stock market succeeded in recovering the losses it had suffered recently due to the spread of the novel coronavirus this week.

The employment data released that day was a "surprise." The U.S. Department of Labor announced that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 225,000 (seasonally adjusted) in January. This significantly exceeded Dow Jones' forecast of a 158,000 increase. The reason was an increase in jobs in sectors such as construction due to unusually warm weather in January. However, manufacturing jobs continued to decline.

Last month's unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.6% from 3.5% in December of the previous year. The labor force participation rate increased to 63.4% from 63.2% the previous month.

On the same day, major institutions released anxious forecasts about the Chinese economy. The international credit rating agency S&P lowered its growth forecast for China this year from 5.7% to 5% due to the novel coronavirus. JP Morgan expressed concerns that China's first-quarter growth rate could fall to 1%. CNBC reported intensively that Evercore ISI, a leading stock market research firm, predicted China's first-quarter growth rate to be 0%, fueling the stock market decline.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) also pointed out in a report released that day that the novel coronavirus could spread not only to the Chinese economy but also to the global economy, emerging as a new risk to economic forecasts.

International oil prices closed lower for the fifth consecutive week. On that day, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell 1.2% (0.63 dollars) to close at 50.32 dollars per barrel.

International gold prices rose slightly, with April delivery gold on the New York Commodity Exchange recording 1,573.40 dollars per ounce, up 0.2% (3.40 dollars) from the previous day.

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