Robust September US jobs data dampens mood in Wall Street; Dow 30, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 collapse

US markets were trading in the red on Friday as a robust jobs data in the US dented the market sentments. The world's largest economy added 263,000 jobs in September in line with the expectations, though the employment numbers were down from August and was the weakest monthly gain since April 2021 according to a PT report.

The report quoted an article published by Associated Press. Around 9 pm India time Dow 30 was trading at 29,541.50, down by 385.40 points or 1.29 per cent from the Thursday closing level. Meanwhile, S&P 500 was lower by 81.69 points or 2.18 per cent and trading at 3,662.83 around this time. Nasdaq Composite was trading at 10,742.30, down by 330.96 points or 2.99 per cent.

The development assumes importance as the strong jobs numbers could fail to deter Federal Reserve to keep the pace of interest rate hike lowered. 

Friday's government report showed that hiring fell from 315,000 in August to the weakest monthly gain since April 2021. The unemployment rate fell from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent, matching a half-century low, this repot said.

The Fed is hoping that slower job growth would mean less pressure on employers to raise pay and pass those costs on to their customers through price increases a recipe for high inflation.