Jobs data and tariff uncertainty are weighing on markets to end the week
Wall Street is indicating a sluggish open, as investors react to the latest jobs report. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) were up triple digits but have since retreated to breakeven, unable to recover from Thursday’s sharp selloff amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding Trump’s tariff measures.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 151,000 last month, falling short of the 170,000 consensus forecast, though better than January’s downwardly revised 125,000 figure. The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.1%, with federal employment declining by 10,000 as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to enact buyouts and mass firings.
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5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw more than 1.6 million call contracts and 1 million put contracts exchanged on Thursday. The single-session equity put/call ratio rose to 0.65, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.60.
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Shares of chipmaker Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) were last seen 10% higher premarket, after posting better-than-expected first quarter earnings and issuing strong guidance. Artificial intelligence (AI) revenue jumped 77% year-over-year to $4.1 billion, while second-quarter revenue guidance of $14.9 billion topped expectations. AVGO already sports a 22.6% year-to-date deficit.
- Gap Inc (NYSE:GAP) topped fourth-quarter earnings estimates and provided strong profit guidance for the current fiscal year. The retailer expects 1% to 2% sales growth this fiscal year and an 8% to 10% rise in operating income. In response, GPS is 16.3% higher before the bell, looking to cut into its 17.6% year-to-date loss.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) stock is 6.5% higher in electronic trading, after Sycamore Partners agreed to take the company private in a $23.7 billion deal, offering $11.45 per share in cash plus up to $3 per share from future asset sales. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Coming into today, WBA was up 13.6% in 2025.
- More inflation data and retail earnings reports are coming up next week.
Japanese Bond Yields Hit Highest Level Since 2008
Asian bourses stumbled into the weekend, with Japanese bond yields spiking to levels not seen since 2008. The Nikkei shed 2.2% in response. In China, the Shanghai Composite finished 0.3% lower, after exports last month rose 2.3%, dramatically below estimates and the slowest growth since last April. Rounding out the region, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.6%.
In Europe, markets are reacting to a volatile week of tariff rug pulls, central bank rate hikes, and earnings. Amid all the recent developments, the euro is 0.7% higher against the dollar. London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.5% at last check, while the French CAC 40 and German DAX are off by 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively.