US stocks fall as stronger-than-expected jobs report raises fears of continued Fed hawkishness

Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell speaks at the Brookings Institution, November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Powell discussed the economic outlook, inflation and the labor market.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• US stocks dropped Friday on the back of a stronger-than-expected jobs report.

• Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000, above the expected 200,000 and opening the door for continued hawkishness from the Federal Reserve.

• The still-tight labor market dashes hopes of policymakers easing monetary tightening.

US stocks dropped on Friday following a stronger-than-expected jobs report that raised the odds that the Federal Reserve will continue to take a hawkish approach to cooling down the economy to tame inflation.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000, above the expected 200,000, and workers' wages came in hotter than expected. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%

Traders ramped up bets slightly that the Fed would initiate a fifth consecutive 75 basis-point rate hike this month, though fed fund futures were still pricing in nearly a 75% chance that it would be a smaller 50 basis-point move.

Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Friday: 

• S&P 500: 4,039.19, down 0.92%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,147.02, down 0.72% (247.99 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 11,482.45, down 1.23%

Here's what else is happening:

• Binance has frozen withdrawals of a crypto linked to its own token that looks like it's been hacked, CZ says.

• Mohamed El-Erian said markets are fixated on a "dynamite" rate hike slowdown.

• Mike Novogratz backed off his call for bitcoin to hit $500,000, blaming the Fed's rate hikes.

• FTX customers could get their money back in Japan, as the local unit is working on unfreezing withdrawals.

• Coinbase said Apple shut down the ability for users to send NFTs because it can't collect the 30% in-app fee.

In oil, commodities, and crypto:

• Oil prices slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.71% to $80.64 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower 0.62% to $86.35 a barrel.

• Gold edged lower 0.93% to 1,798.50 per ounce.

• The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher 4.5 basis points to 3.572%.

• Bitcoin dropped 0.15% to $16,909.

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