US stocks open Friday lower after jobs report

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks opened Friday lower after the release of the much-anticipated jobs figures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 120 points, or 0.31%, to 38,755 at 9.37 a.m. EDT (1337GMT).

The S&P 500 fell 18 points, or 0.33%, to 5,334 and the Nasdaq was down 72 points, or 0.42%, to 17,100 at the time.

American economy added 272,000 jobs in May, much more than market estimates of 182,000, according to Labor Department figures released earlier. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose to 4% in May from 3.9% in April.

The jobs data, which is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, shows that the US labor market still remains hot, and the Fed's first rate cut could be further delayed this year.

The probability of a Fed rate cut of 25 basis points at the Fed’s meeting next Wednesday stood at just 0.6%, according to the FedWatch Tool provided by the US-based Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group. However, an interest rate cut of 25 basis points on Sept. 18 was at 51.6%.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 1.8% to 12.81. The 10-year US Treasury yield added 3.3% to 4.421%.

The dollar index rose 0.6% to 104.71, while the euro shed 0.6% to $1.0824 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold losing 2.2% to $2,323 and silver diving 5% to $29.76.

Oil prices were up around 0.2%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $79.97 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $75.75 per barrel.

After Nvidia's market cap passed the $3 trillion mark and has overtaken Apple as the second-most-valuable company in the US by the closing bell on Wednesday, the chipmaker's stock price was trading at $1,189.60per share at the time for a daily loss of 1.7% and its market cap was down to $2.91 trillion.

Apple, on the other hand, saw its stock price rising 0.6% to $195.75 at the time, regaining its position with a market value of $2.99 trillion.