NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday, although major indexes recovered from their lowest levels, as the November payrolls report fueled expectations the Federal Reserve would maintain its path of interest rate hikes to combat inflation.
The Labor Department's jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 263,000, above expectations of 200,000 and wage growth accelerated even as recession concerns increase.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged, as expected, at 3.7%.
Investors have been looking for signs of weakness in the labor market, especially wages, as a precursor to faster cooling of inflation that will enable the Fed to slow and eventually stop its current rate hike cycle.
Stocks had rallied earlier in the week after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on scaling back interest rates hikes as early as December.
Still, equities were off their lowest levels of the day that saw each of the major indexes tumble at least 1%.
"If anything, I am actually encouraged by how the market is clawing its way back from the level we were at today, it is another indication the market is looking for at least a seasonal December rally," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA in New York.
Growth and technology companies such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), down 1.36%, and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), off 1.36%, were pressured by concerns over rising rates. The S&P 500 growth index lost 0.79%.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co declined 2.13% on lower vehicle sales in November, while DoorDash Inc shed 2.10% after RBC downgraded the food delivery firm's stock.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.22-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 84 new lows.
Separately, a report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended Nov. 26.
At 12:16 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 330.81 points, or 0.96%, at 34,258.96, the S&P 500 was down 17.02 points, or 0.42%, at 4,063.09, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 35.31 points, or 0.31%, at 11,432.69.
Most megacap growth stocks such as Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc were mixed, while 3% gains in Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) limited falls on the Nasdaq.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.29-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 29 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 83 new highs and 49 new lows.
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Source: investing.com
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