US close: Macro concerns hit stocks after weak payrolls data
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Friday 05 Sep 2025
(Sharecast News) - US stocks fell on Friday as concerns about the economy overshadowed increased rate-cut projections, as data showed that hiring slowed to a crawl in August.
"An initially positive reaction to today's weak payrolls report has given way to some classic 'buy the rumour, sell the fact' action in Friday's afternoon trading," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
"Traders are battling a mix of relief that today's report confirms a September rate cut while being worried that weak period of job growth spells stagflation ahead."
The Dow fell 0.5%, the Nasdaq was flat, while the S&P 500 retreated 0.3% from Thursday's record closing high of 6,502.08.
The US economy added just 22,000 non-farm payrolls in August, according to the Department of Labor, significantly lower than the 79,000 jobs created in July and well below the 75,000 consensus estimate. The rate of unemployment ticked higher by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.3%, as expected, although the labour force participation rate did improve from 62.2% to 62.3%.
Revised data also showed that it in fact contracted in June, with non-farm payrolls falling by 13,000, compared with earlier estimates of a 14,000 increase.
"While the US economy has been shedding jobs in certain sectors for some time, for example, the manufacturing sector, now there is a sign that the other sectors of the economy cannot make up for this by hiring more," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
"The broad nature of the slowdown is likely to lead to concerns about the state of the economy, it could also lead to the ire of Donald Trump and even more pressure on the Fed to cut rates."
Market movers
Electric carmaker Tesla rose 5% despite the news that the company's board has proposed a landmark compensation package for chief executive Elon Musk, potentially worth as much as $1trn over the next decade. If approved, the package would cement Musk's status as the highest-paid executive in corporate history, while signalling Tesla's intent to dominate the next phase of autonomous transport.
Shares in Broadcom were up nearly 10% after the American semiconductor giant unveiled record results for its fiscal third quarter on the back of impressive AI revenue growth, and impressed with its outlook. The company reported revenues of $15.95bn for the three months to 3 August, up 22% over last year and ahead of the $15.83bn consensus estimate.
Heading lower was Lululemon Athletica, which slumped 16% after the athleisure retailer warned on profits for the second time this year. The Canada-based firm blamed sluggish demand in the US and tariff costs, relying heavily on Asian countries such as China and Vietnam for both manufacturing and raw materials.
Dow Jones - Risers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $250.48 2.65%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.49 2.39%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $24.48 2.38%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $418.89 1.75%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $315.07 1.51%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $239.69 0.87%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $422.99 0.66%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $84.59 0.64%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $160.09 0.57%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $248.50 0.53%
Dow Jones - Fallers
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $294.54 -3.06%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $153.79 -2.47%
Visa Inc. (V) $343.25 -2.21%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $495.00 -1.94%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $73.91 -1.91%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $275.37 -1.45%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $738.66 -1.37%
American Express Co. (AXP) $326.24 -1.33%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $66.88 -1.24%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $314.23 -0.87%
S&P 500 - Risers
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $40.18 18.45%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $131.37 10.65%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $334.89 10.28%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $905.09 6.86%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $92.04 6.40%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $188.16 6.33%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $466.86 5.90%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $102.95 5.80%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $65.92 5.66%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $139.12 5.22%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $29.41 -7.72%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $92.05 -5.72%
T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) $108.16 -5.11%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.75 -4.43%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $151.14 -4.43%
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) $489.28 -4.42%
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) $43.36 -3.74%
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $78.96 -3.51%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $47.99 -3.37%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $993.47 -3.36%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $9.05 17.84%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $131.37 10.65%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $334.89 10.28%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $905.09 6.86%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $92.04 6.40%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $188.16 6.33%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $466.86 5.90%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $102.95 5.80%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $65.92 5.66%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $781.70 5.49%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $47.99 -3.37%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.08 -3.23%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $120.93 -2.52%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $85.43 -2.31%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $62.46 -2.27%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $495.00 -1.94%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $167.02 -1.90%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $514.86 -1.85%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $68.26 -1.44%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $66.90 -1.21%
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