(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed lower on Friday as investors digested May's jobs report, with the Nasdaq logging its biggest single-day decline since Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariff" announcements in April 2025.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.35% at 50,866.78, while the S&P 500 shed 2.64% to 7,383.74 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 4.18% weaker at 25,709.74.
The Dow closed 695.15 points lower on Friday, taking a sizeable bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.
Friday's primary focus was news that US non‑farm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, remaining within the narrow 4.3% to 4.5% range seen since mid‑2025. Economists were expecting to see just 85,000 jobs being added last month.
Short‑term unemployment fell back, with the number of people jobless for fewer than five weeks dropping by 286,000 to 2.2m, reversing the prior month's increase, while long‑term unemployment was little changed at 2.0m but has risen by 524,000 over the past twelve months, accounting for 27.5% of all unemployed people. Leisure and hospitality led the month with 70,000 new jobs, well above its recent trend, including 48,000 in food services and drinking places, while local government employment rose by 55,000, driven by a 44,000 increase outside education, and health care added 35,000 jobs, in line with its recent average, with ambulatory services and home health care continuing to see steady growth. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised up by 29,000 to 214,000, and the change for April was upwardly revised by 64,000 to 179,000.
US Treasury yields pushed higher after the NFP report, with market participants raising bets bets that the Federal Reserve could deliver a rate hike before year‑end. The 10‑year yield moved to 4.522%, while the 30‑year ticked up to 4.999%. Also of note, bitcoin tumbled below $60,000 for the first time since 2024.
In the corporate space, Broadcom traded lower on Friday, extending its more than 12% drop on Thursday, while Marvell Technology and Micron Technology followed along for the ride as traders continued to pare their exposure to artificial intelligence-linked names. Traders rotated into the likes of Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.
Elsewhere, Donald Trump said he would be "honoured" to meet Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new Supreme Leader, if it was "to make a deal", with Washington and Tehran's fragile ceasefire now stretching into its ninth week.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $146.54 4.09%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $79.48 3.46%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $303.25 3.35%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $279.84 2.61%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $232.77 2.02%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.37 1.11%
Visa Inc. (V) $323.57 1.06%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $349.58 1.03%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $399.47 0.76%
3M Co. (MMM) $153.76 0.65%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $99.17 -10.42%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $284.84 -5.61%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,038.68 -4.94%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $904.28 -3.85%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $416.67 -3.59%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $33.97 -2.36%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $121.64 -2.28%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $185.66 -1.64%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $42.98 -1.47%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $307.34 -1.30%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $10.00 4.44%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $392.51 3.12%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $102.38 2.61%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $90.33 2.17%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $422.06 1.68%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $56.77 1.64%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $446.83 1.46%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $365.76 1.39%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $167.74 1.38%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $116.68 1.37%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $864.01 -14.57%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $511.72 -12.88%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $215.94 -11.75%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $99.17 -10.42%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $121.66 -9.98%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $847.47 -8.78%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $88.34 -8.59%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $303.28 -8.31%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $391.00 -8.12%