Wall Street falls as jobs data suggests Fed hikes not over

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock indexes closed mostly lower Friday after a roller-coaster day following a blockbuster report on the U.S. jobs market that offered both good and bad news for Wall Street.

The benchmark S&P 500 ended just 0.2 percent lower after recovering from an early slide as investors reacted to the report, which showed U.S. employers unexpectedly added hundreds of thousands more jobs than forecast last month.

The blistering data suggests the economy may not be in a recession, as feared. But it also undercuts investors’ speculation that a slowing economy may mean a peak for inflation soon. That means the Federal Reserve may not let up on its aggressive rate hikes to combat inflation as early as hoped. And much of Wall Street still revolves around expectations for rates.

“It’s a reminder for investors on how uncertain Fed policy is going forward and the strong jobs market data shows just how far the Fed has to go,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management.

Stocks of technology and other high-growth companies once again took the brunt of the selling amid the rising-rate worries. The techheavy Nasdaq composite cut its early losses and closed down 63.03 points, or 0.5 percent, at 12,657.55.

The good news on the jobs market helped to limit losses for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, whose stocks tend to move more with expectations for the overall economy. It added 76.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 32,803.47.