Investing.com-- U.S. stocks fell Friday, retreating as investors digested a lackluster employment report amid uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
At 09:35 ET (14:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 77 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index dropped 10 points, or 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite lipped 20 points, or 0.1%.
The main Wall Street indices are on track for weekly losses, with investors increasingly concerned the volatility surrounding the White House’s tariff policies will hamper consumer spending and add uncertainty to business decisions.
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a temporary exemption for goods imported from Canada and Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), delaying the implementation of a 25% tariff until April 2.
In response to the U.S. tariff announcements, Canada has decided to postpone a planned second wave of retaliatory tariffs on $125 billion worth of U.S. products until April 2.
Despite these temporary tariff exemptions, financial markets reacted negatively due to the prevailing uncertainty surrounding trade policies, amid concerns economic activity is being hit.
This was illustrated by Friday’s widely-watched monthly jobs report, as the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than anticipated in February, while the unemployment rate accelerated slightly, in a potential sign of some labor market pressure.
This could factor in to how Federal Reserve officials determine the path ahead for interest rates.
Nonfarm payrolls for the month came in at 151,000, up from a downwardly-revised reading of 125,000 in January, data from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Friday. Economists had anticipated 159,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was 4.1%, above January’s pace of 4.0%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is also due to speak later in the session, and will provide almost real-time reaction to the figures.
In the corporate sector, Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO ) stock rose 5% after the chipmaker assuaged investor worries about artificial intelligence infrastructure demand with a strong second-quarter forecast.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE ) stock slumped 15% after the AI-server maker said its annual profit forecast would be hit by U.S. tariffs in an intensely competitive market.
Gap (NYSE: GAP ) stock surged 15% after the apparel company beat fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates, as the retailer’s turnaround strategy helped attract customers to its apparel brands including Old Navy and Banana Republic during the holiday quarter.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST ) stock dipped almost 5% after the wholesale retailer reported lower-than-anticipated fiscal second-quarter profit, although revenues topped expectations, as consumers wary of the potential inflationary impact of U.S. tariffs turned to bulk-buying.
Oil prices rose Friday, helped by talk of major producers reining in the planned output increased next month, but were set for a hefty weekly decline amid uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy.
At 09:35 ET (14:35 GMT), Brent futures rose 2.1% to $70.92 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.2% to $67.81 a barrel.
However, both contracts are set for weekly falls of around 3%.
Markets, including oil, have been whipsawed by fluctuating trade policy in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.
(Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article.)