Wall Street reverses lower following negative jobs data

US stock indexes fell on Friday during trading after an initially positive opening toward new record levels, as investors assessed the impact of the negative employment data.

The data released today by the US Department of Labor showed that the US economy added only 22,000 jobs during August, compared with expectations of 75,000 jobs, which is considered a very negative report.

The data also showed that the unemployment rate in the US labor market rose to 4.3% during August, a reading that was consistent with analysts’ expectations.

On trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.4% (equivalent to 190 points) to 45,434 points by 15:25 GMT, the broader S&P 500 index declined by 0.3% (equivalent to 22 points) to 6,480 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.2% (equivalent to 55 points) to 21,652 points.