US stock markets presented a mixed performance on Friday, closing with varying degrees of decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled at 45,401 points, representing a 0.5% decrease compared to the previous trading day.
Shortly before the market close in New York, the broader S&P 500 stood at approximately 6,482 points, down 0.3%. The technology-focused Nasdaq 100 registered around 23,652 points, a slight decrease of 0.1%.
Investor attention was focused on the release of the August US jobs report, the first under new leadership at the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a leadership change initiated in July. Data revisions to previous months had prompted the change. The August figures reflected a less dramatic picture than initially suggested. However, the US economy has only added fewer than 30,000 jobs over the past three months, with the labor market shrinking in June according to revised calculations, marking the first contraction since 2020. This scenario strengthens expectations for potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Discussions are currently underway regarding the possible size of any such cut.
The Euro gained strength against the US dollar, trading at 1.1718 USD, with a dollar valued at 0.8534 EUR.
Gold prices saw a significant boost, reaching 3,590 USD per fine ounce (+1.2%), equivalent to 98.50 EUR per gram.
Conversely, oil prices experienced a notable decline. Brent crude, from the North Sea, traded at 65.67 USD per barrel late Friday afternoon German time, a drop of 132 cents or 2.0% compared to the close of the previous trading day.