The announcement spurred a sell-off across the financial sector as investors grew increasingly concerned that higher interest rates would result in banks facing losses on loans due to borrower defaults. Financials was the worst performing sector within the S&P 500 at a 4.1% drop — its worst daily performance since 2020.
Wall Street is bracing for February jobs report, which is slated to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect nonfarm payrolls to rise 225,000 in the month, which would mark a slowdown in growth fromThe unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged from January — when it hit a low not seen since 1969 — at 3.4%, according to Dow Jones. Data on hourly wages is expected to show hourly wages increased 0.4% from the prior month for a year-over-year again of 4.
While having more jobs is considered good for the economy, a better-than-expected report can push stocks lower, according to Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. That's because more workers can signal more demand, he said, which would indicate higher inflation. Traders are pricing in a roughly 63% chance of the Federal Reserve raising rates by half of a percentage point at its next policy meeting in about two weeks, according to the. Investors see Friday's job report as a key driver in that decision, given the central bank's continued focus on the strength of the labor market as a justification for rate increases.
"A strong report would be bad news for the Fed, for interest rates, and for markets," McMillan said. "This is the problem we face tomorrow."These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading:
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