Stocks in the United States returned to the decline that began on Tuesday due to growing economic uncertainty and concerns about overvalued prices. Technology stocks in particular headed downward. The dollar weakened on the foreign exchange market.
US stocks fall
The Dow Jones index, which includes the stocks of 30 leading US companies, lost 0.84 percent today to 46,912.30 points. The broader S&P 500 index fell 1.12 percent to 6,720.32 points, and the Nasdaq Composite index, which includes many companies from the advanced technology sector, fell 1.90 percent to 23,053.99 points.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 153,074 people were laid off last month, an 183 percent year-on-year increase and the highest total for October in more than 20 years. Companies are cutting costs and planning new strategies for the future with artificial intelligence.
Concerns about a weakening labor market weakened the dollar, while the pound and euro strengthened.
“Challenger’s report on layoffs was disappointing and raised concerns that the labor market is weakening faster and more than the Fed realizes,” said Michael Green, an analyst at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia. He added that, in his opinion, the market now expects the central bank to cut rates in December, which Fed Chairman Jerome Powell described as highly debatable in his latest speech. The weak labor market and the growing prospect of further rate cuts in the US also sent the dollar down. The US currency thus lost ground for the second day in a row.
On the other hand, the pound benefited from the central bank’s announcement that it would leave its base interest rate unchanged at 4% as expected. Shortly before 10 p.m. CET, the pound strengthened by 0.6% against the dollar to USD 1.3134. The euro strengthened by 0.5 percent against the dollar to USD 1.1545. The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, lost 0.5 percent to 99.73 points.
Source: Reuters
