2026.09.0420:08:58UTC+00US Stocks Close Lower After Strong Jobs Report

US stocks finished mostly lower on Friday after stronger‑than‑expected labor market data bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve has more room to raise interest rates. The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 272 points, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2%.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000, well above forecasts for a gain of slightly more than 50,000 jobs. The upside surprise in hiring pushed bond yields higher and weighed on credit‑sensitive sectors. Among major tech names, Alphabet slipped 1.1%, Microsoft lost 2%, Tesla dropped 5.9%, and Palantir retreated 4.5%. In financials, JPMorgan fell 0.9% and Visa declined 1%.

Semiconductor stocks, which had lagged earlier in the week, rebounded and helped support the Nasdaq. Nvidia advanced 0.8%, Micron climbed 6.1%, Intel gained 4.5%, and Marvell Technology jumped 7%, amid renewed optimism around OpenAI’s latest GPT model. Sandisk surged 11.9%, and AMD rose 4.7%.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.3%, while the S&P 500 added 0.1% and the Nasdaq gained 0.4%. US equity markets will be closed on Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday.