US close: Stocks slip as payroll data underwhelms

US stocks slipped on Friday after key labour-market indicators came in stronger than forecasts, cementing expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady for longer in an effort to tame economic growth and fight inflationary risks.

The Dow finished down 0.2% at 38,798.99, the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 5,346.99, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2% to 17,133.13.

The US economy added 272,000 non-farm payrolls in May, up from a downwardly revised 165,000 in April, according to the Department of Labor. This was well ahead of the 185,000 expected by the market and the highest reading in five months.

Meanwhile, average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% over the month, picking up from the 0.2% growth registered in April and ahead of estimates, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher to 4% from 3.9%.

"Fed September rate cut expectations dipped from 65% to around 55% with the US dollar strongly appreciating amid rallying US yields," said Axel Rudolph, senior market analyst at IG. Bond yields surged, with the yield on a 10-year US Treasury up 14.7 basis points at a one-week high of 4.439%.

Bernard Yaros, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, said employment figures released this week suggests the labour market is "not too hot, but not too cold".

"Despite the upside surprise to nonfarm payrolls, the job market is not at risk of overtightening, which would set the stage for wage-push inflation. Several factors may have biased May's payroll gain higher, and with the unemployment rate gradually rising, it is hard to argue that monthly gains of more than 200,000 jobs, on average, have been unsustainably strong," Yaros said.

Market movers

GameStop shares fell 40%, suffering their worst one-day performance since 2021 after the investor known as Roaring Kitty seemingly underwhelmed with a livestream about the meme stock.

DocuSign shares were down 5% after the e-signature firm's second-quarter guidance on billings left investors disappointed.

Gold stocks like Royal Gold, Freeport-McMoRan and Newmont were under pressure as the price of bullion rose on the back of a stronger US dollar, falling 2.8% to $2,325 an ounce.

Ski resort operator Vail Resorts sank 10% after bad weather dampened its quarterly results, with 28% less snowfall across its Western North American resorts this winter.

Dow Jones - Risers

3M Co. (MMM) $100.86 2.69%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $212.95 1.54%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $199.95 1.54%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $196.89 1.24%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $170.10 1.08%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.74 1.05%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $96.55 0.87%
Visa Inc. (V) $278.67 0.59%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $147.08 0.45%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.54 0.33%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $490.69 -2.24%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $65.88 -1.89%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $256.21 -1.73%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $327.03 -1.23%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.94 -0.94%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.84 -0.84%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $167.06 -0.84%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $454.91 -0.70%
Boeing Co. (BA) $190.24 -0.62%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $241.85 -0.37%

S&P 500 - Risers

Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $16.62 4.35%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $280.40 3.64%
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $107.81 3.17%
3M Co. (MMM) $100.86 2.69%
Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) $140.02 2.52%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $123.06 2.29%
Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) $103.49 2.27%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $20.03 2.25%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $84.07 2.10%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $643.40 2.04%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.26 -9.35%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $40.36 -5.04%
Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $291.95 -3.98%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $49.27 -3.86%
FMC Corp. (FMC) $56.69 -3.44%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.27 -3.05%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $49.96 -2.84%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $225.43 -2.83%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $115.05 -2.74%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $28.28 -2.68%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $123.06 2.29%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $252.32 1.75%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $465.43 1.59%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $264.00 1.54%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $64.71 1.35%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $59.19 1.33%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $196.89 1.24%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.74 1.05%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $156.35 0.99%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $93.23 0.81%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.01 -6.30%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $225.43 -2.83%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $24.77 -2.63%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,028.42 -2.30%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $95.89 -1.91%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.33 -1.48%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $206.62 -1.35%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $175.95 -1.35%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $768.97 -1.32%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $107.67 -1.31%