US stocks dive at opening as weak jobs figures ignite recession fears

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Major stock exchanges in the US plummeted at opening on Friday as weak jobs figures have reignited recession fears.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dove 350 points, or 2.04%, to 16,843 at 9.39 a.m. EDT and the S&P 500 fell 73 points, or 1.36%, to 5,373.

The Dow, meanwhile, decreased 446 points, or 1.11%, to 39,942.

American economy added 114,000 jobs in July, significantly below market estimates of 176,000, according to figures released earlier by the Labor Department.

Job additions for June were also revised down by 27,000, from 206,000 to 179,000, while the unemployment rate increased to 4.3% in July from 4.1% in June.

The figures signal a cooling labor market and increases the likelihood of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September, but investors are worried that the central bank could have been late to ease its monetary policy, pushing the US economy into a recession.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 11.3% to 20.70. The 10-year US Treasury yield declined 2.8% to 3.865%.

The dollar index decreased 1% to 103.41, while the euro rose 1% to $1.0894 against the greenback.

Precious metals were on the rise, with gold adding 0.7% to $2,463 per ounce and silver increasing 0.9% to $28.78.

Oil prices were down more than 2.6%, with global benchmark Brent crude priced at $77.43 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $74.02.