Burst of hiring drives U.S. bonds lower; stocks slip
NEW YORK - A burst of hiring last month led to a drop in the bond market Friday as traders placed bets that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this year. Despite the good economic news, the stock market drifted to another loss, finishing lower for the second week in a row.
NEW YORK - A burst of hiring last month led to a drop in the bond market Friday as traders placed bets that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates this year. Despite the good economic news, the stock market drifted to another loss, finishing lower for the second week in a row.
The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 280,000 workers to their payrolls in May and also tweaked its estimate of hiring in March and April, raising hiring numbers for the two months by a combined 32,000.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 56.12 points, or 0.31 percent, to 17,849.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3.01 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,092.83, while the Nasdaq edged up 9.33 points, or 0.18 percent, to 5,068.46.
In Europe, markets were rattled by Greece's decision to bundle together its payments to the International Monetary Fund.
Precious and industrial metals futures settled mostly lower. Gold lost $7.10 to $1,168.10 an ounce, and silver slipped 12 cents to $15.98. Copper picked up a penny to close at $2.69 a pound.
In oil trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.13 to close at $59.13 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many U.S. refineries, rose $1.28 to close at $63.31 in London.
Natural gas fell 3.6 cents to close at $2.59 per 1,000 cubic feet.