US open: Stocks sharply lower as recession fears resurface

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the red at the opening bell on Friday amid resurgent fears of a potentially oncoming recession.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.75% at 39,640.07, while the S&P 500 lost 2.28% to 5,322.56 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 2.98% weaker at 16,681.77.

The Dow opened 707.90 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as fears that it may be too late for the Fed to start cutting rates if it wants to avoid a recession sent shares sharply lower.

Friday's primary focus looked set to be July's nonfarm payrolls report, which revealed hiring in the US slowed abruptly last month, prompting talk in markets of "policy mistakes" by the central bank and of a "growth scare".

According to the Department of Labor, non-farm payrolls rose by 114,000 in July, below economists' expectations for an increase to 175,000. Hiring for the prior two months combined was also revised down by 29,000 and the rate of unemployment jumped by two-tenths of a percentage point from the month before to 4.3%, ahead of consensus estimates for an unchanged reading of 4.1%

"The sharp slowdown in payrolls in July and sharper rise in the unemployment rate makes a September interest rate cut inevitable and will increase speculation that the Fed will kick off its loosening cycle with a 50 bp cut or even an intra-meeting move, although it’s worth noting that the Sahm Rule has not actually been triggered yet," said Stephen Brown, deputy chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

Corporate earnings were also in focus early on Friday after online retail giant Amazon missed Wall Street estimates with its second-quarter earnings and issued disappointing full-year guidance, while Intel shares sunk after announcing it would be making layoffs, and tech giant Apple shares ticked lower despite posting a Q3 earnings beat.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.36 2.07%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $584.12 1.98%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $273.73 1.85%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.63 1.79%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $115.84 1.77%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.52 1.64%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $168.12 1.47%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $213.40 0.64%
Visa Inc. (V) $266.36 0.16%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.56 -32.84%
Boeing Co. (BA) $168.46 -5.53%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $241.24 -4.67%
American Express Co. (AXP) $238.62 -4.05%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $319.74 -3.55%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $483.80 -3.26%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $405.28 -3.15%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $201.70 -3.01%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.16 -2.94%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.92 -2.55%

S&P 500 - Risers

Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $235.07 6.13%
Clorox Co. (CLX) $141.78 5.70%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $1,107.32 4.77%
Regency Centers Corp. (REG) $70.73 4.01%
PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $179.26 3.31%
American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $235.02 3.11%
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $103.31 3.09%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $70.27 3.05%
CME Group Inc. (CME) $201.38 2.74%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $83.71 2.57%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.56 -32.84%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $688.13 -15.84%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $161.16 -14.57%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $75.95 -14.35%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $101.67 -13.80%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $93.91 -12.26%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $181.98 -12.04%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $491.89 -11.68%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $45.59 -11.59%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $30.12 -11.54%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $192.95 5.34%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $1,107.32 4.77%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,755.00 4.33%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $70.27 3.05%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $83.71 2.57%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $36.15 1.87%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $56.14 1.63%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $77.91 1.56%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $503.70 1.23%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $148.68 1.13%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.56 -32.84%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $688.13 -15.84%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $161.16 -14.57%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $75.95 -14.35%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $101.67 -13.80%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $805.16 -12.48%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $93.91 -12.26%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $181.98 -12.04%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $491.89 -11.68%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $766.12 -11.53%