Sometimes good news for the economy is bad news for stocks.
The U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs Friday, and wages saw their biggest increase since the end of the recession. The strength of the labor market, however, appeared to lead to weakness in the stock market.
The stronger-than-expected jobs report is likely to reassure Federal Reserve officials about their plans to raise rates several times this year. In December, Fed officials predicted that they would raise rates three times in 2018. A stronger jobs market, however, raises the potential for a possible fourth rate hike.
“If wage growth continues, that could have an impact on the path of interest rates,” Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on CNBC Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 666 points, or around 2.5 percent, Friday. The Dow rose 5.8 percent in January but declined 4.1 percent for the week, the worst weekly record since 2016. The S&P fell by 2.1 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite declined by around 1.95 percent.
The yield on the ten-year Treasury note rose to its highest level in more than four years. Yields move up as bond prices decline.
Rising pay for workers has focused investor attention on the risk of inflation, which erodes the value of the fixed coupon paid to bondholders.