Dow futures fall more than 150 points after hot jobs report spikes rates higher: Live updates

The U.S. economy added many more jobs than anticipated in December, with nonfarm payrolls growing by 216,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 170,000 for last month.

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.

— Jeff Cox

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance fell more than 5% during Thursday’s trading session after the company announced it would slash its quarterly dividend to 25 cents per share from 48 cents.

As economic growth slows this year, Wolfe Research’s Chris Senyek expects to see more dividend cuts in 2024.

However, Senyek said that ultimately, in the long run cutting dividends could be beneficial for stock prices.

“Historically, we’ve found that the market prices in a cut in the 1-year period preceding the actual event as the historical total and relative average returns were -28% and -17%, respectively. Subsequently, the dividend cut has signaled a ‘clearing event’ for the stock,” he wrote in a Friday note. “On average, across all dividend cut stocks, they were dead money for 6 months but then outperformed over the 1 and 2-year periods.”

Senyek added that stocks within the industrials, energy and materials sectors tended to perform the best post-cut.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Maersk said Friday it will keep ships away from the Red Sea for the “foreseeable future.”

“The situation is constantly evolving and remains highly volatile, and all available intelligence at hand confirms that the security risk continues to be at a significantly elevated level,” Maersk said in a statement.

— Jenni Reid

Douglas Busch of ChartSmarter said the 4,600 level in the S&P 500 will be key if the broad market index continues its decline. However, he still sees the benchmark breaking above 5,000 in the first half of 2024.

“I think you just let things shake out. Be patient; no reason to be a hero” Busch told CNBC on Thursday.

Busch’s comments came as the S&P 500 fell for a fourth straight day, putting it in jeopardy to snap a nine-week winning streak. The S&P 500 closed at 4,688.68 in the prior session. For the index to reach 5,000, it will need to rise 6.6%.

— Fred Imbert

Philippine Inflation in December cooled at a faster pace than the month before, according to official data.

Consumer prices rose 3.9% in December, lower than the 4.1% increase in the prior month. It was also the slowest pace of price increases since since February 2022, and the the third straight easing in CPI.

Inflation is still, however, higher than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ target range of 2%-4%.

“The downtrend in the overall inflation in December 2023 was primarily brought about by the lower year-on-year growth in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 1.5 percent in December 2023 from 2.5 percent in the previous month,” according to the official release.

—  Shreyashi Sanyal

A survey showed on Friday that the contraction in Japan’s private sector activity was over.

The au Jibun Bank Japan composite PMI for December came in at 50, rising from 49.6 in the prior month to signal stabilization in Japan’s private sector output.

A PMI reading above 50 signifies expansion, while numbers below that show contraction.

December saw higher services sector growth, but manufacturing activity continued to slow.

The au Jibun Bank Japan services PMI was at 51.5 in December, up from 50.8 in November. The expansion was the second-weakest recorded in 2023.

“A faster rise in new business was a key factor in driving business activity growth higher, as firms cited increased customer numbers,” the survey said.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index edged 0.3% higher on Friday.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Shares of Peloton rose 6% in after hours trading as investors continued to cheer the fitness company’s new partnership with TikTok.

The collaboration includes a new fitness hub on the social media app, with content created by Peloton instructors.

The move builds on a gain of nearly 14% during Thursday’s regular trading session.

U.S. stock futures ticked higher on Thursday evening.

Futures linked to the S&P 500 gained 0.1%, as did futures tied to the Nasdaq 100. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 53 points, or about 0.1%.

The three major averages are all on pace for weekly losses.

— Darla Mercado

Here’s where the major averages stand for the week with one session left:

• The Dow is down -0.66% WTD, on pace to break a 9-week win streak
• The S&P 500 is down -1.70% WTD, on pace to break a 9-week win streak
• The S&P 500 has fallen for four straight sessions for the first time since its 5-day streak ending Oct. 23, 2023
• The Nasdaq is down -3.34% WTD, on pace to break a 9-week win streak with its worst weekly performance since the period ending September 2023.
• The Nasdaq suffered its fifth negative session in a row for the first time since its 6-day streak ending Oct. 12, 2022.

— Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes