The major U.S. stock indexes slipped on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report prompted investors to ramp up bets on an interest rate hike later this month.
A Labor Department report showed the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, compared with estimates of 56,000, according to economists polled by Reuters. The unemployment rate stood at 4.1% last month, as expected.
The data could give the Federal Reserve more room to focus on inflation, especially as Chair Kevin Warsh has indicated that controlling price pressures is his top priority.
"This is obviously a very volatile report, but it does mean that at this point the Fed's focus is going to be on inflation," said Josh Stevens, chief investment officer at CresAlta Investment Management.
Traders added to expectations of an interest rate hike at the central bank's September 15-16 meeting, with short-term interest-rate futures now implying a 60% chance of an increase, up from 55% before the report.
"The market just had a knee-jerk reaction to the jobs report. Investors are shooting first and asking questions later," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital.
At 11:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 305.54 points, or 0.57%, to 53,380.57, the S&P 500 lost 33.99 points, or 0.44%, to 7,713.72 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 114.87 points, or 0.43%, to 26,469.19.
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