Stocks on Wall Street finished lower on Friday, with tech stocks falling the most, as investors discounted a strong jobs data amid concerns about slowing growth and increased interest rates.
According to the Labor Department, the US economy added 428,000 jobs in April, above expectations, and the unemployment rate remained at a low 3.6 percent.
However, investors are concerned that increasing costs and interest rates would hurt consumers, limiting the economy’s growth in the second half of 2022.
“There is a real concern about slowing growth and the possibility that the economy could tip into recession,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent to 32,899.37.
The S&P 500 index down 0.6 percent to 4,123.34, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.4 percent to 12,144.66.
The Nasdaq, with a weekly loss of 1.5 percent, was the worst of the three indices.
Ten of the S& P 500’s 11 sectors ended the day with losses, with only energy stocks increasing as oil prices rose.
According to O’Hare, beaten-down tech stocks could eventually rise owing to bargain hunting, but investors are currently too concerned about the profits forecast due to macroeconomic uncertainties.
