LONDON: US stocks closed lower on Friday after the nonfarm payrolls report kept the door open for a September Fed rate hike.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6.37 points, or 0.27%, to 17,373.38, posting its seventh-straight loss in a row. The S&P 500 Index lost 5.99 points, or 0.29%, at 2,077.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.90 points, or 0.26%, to 5,043.54.
US nonfarm payrolls showed economy created 215,000 jobs in July, slightly below the 222,000 expected. However, the reading was “strong” enough to maintain expectations of a September Fed hike alive.
The unemployment rate stayed at a 7-year low of 5.3% as expected while June and May job gains were upwardly revised.
