US stocks fell Friday on worries that good news on the job market may be too good and prove a problem for Wall Street by keeping inflation and interest rates high.
- The Dow dropped 696.75 to 41,938.45, down 1.4% for the week.
- The S&P 500 fell 91.21 points to 5,827.04.
- The Nasdaq sank 317.25 to 19,161.63.
Stocks took their cue from the bond market, the AP reports, where yields leaped to crank up the pressure after a report said US employers added many more jobs to their payrolls last month than economists expected. Such strength in hiring is of course good news for workers. But it could also keep upward pressure on inflation by keeping the overall economy humming. That in turn could dissuade the Federal Reserve from delivering the cuts to interest rates that Wall Street loves. Lower rates can not only goose the economy but also boost prices for investments. The Fed has already indicated it's likely to ease rates fewer times this year than it earlier expected because of worries about inflation.
Constellation Brands tumbled 17.1% for the biggest loss in the S&P 500 after the seller of Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Insurance companies were also under pressure as wildfires burn in the Los Angeles area. Allstate fell 5.6%, Travelers dropped 4.3%, and Chubb lost 3.4%. Delta Air Lines was able to fly 9% higher because it delivered a stronger profit report for the last three months of 2024 than analysts expected. The airline said it's seeing strong demand for travel, which accelerated through the end of last year, and it expects that to continue into 2025. (More Wall Street stories.)
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