Stocks flipped into the red Friday afternoon after looking set to rebound earlier in the session, putting the cap on a rough first few days in August as the jobs report’s release took center stage and an earnings-heavy calendar continued.
In midday trading, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was down 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped by 0.2% after gaining as much as 1% earlier in the session.
The July jobs report showed continued cooling in the labor market, as nonfarm payrolls rose by 187,000 last month while the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 3.5%. The numbers will serve as a key indicator for the Fed as it determines whether to halt its interest rate hiking campaign next month.
Elsewhere, Amazon (AMZN) stock was buzzing Friday, up more than 10% after earnings beat all around, combined with rosy guidance for the near term. Apple (AAPL), by contrast, was down 3% after the iPhone maker reported sluggish sales of that flagship product and a third straight quarter of declining revenue overall.
