Stock futures edge lower due to Fed’s long-term plans

Stock futures edged lower on Friday morning as investors looked for signs of future work on how the Federal Reserve might fare in the long run. The stock follows a stiff sell-off, with banking stocks leading the way.

Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 237 points, or 0.74% S&P 500 futures fell 0.76% Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.57%

The unemployment numbers are expected to remain unchanged from January, when it hit its lowest level since 1969 at 3.5%. Economists estimate that hourly earnings are expected to rise 0.5% from the previous month, up 4.7% from 12 months ago.

Wall Street suffered a tough session, with all three major indexes experiencing losses. The Nasdaq Composite declined 2.06%, the S&P 500 was down 1.86%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 543.55 points or 1.67%. This marks the first time the Dow has been below its 200-day moving average since last November. The three indexes are projected to close the week with a decrease greater than 3.4%.

The announcement triggered a sell-off in the financial sector. Because investors will increasingly begin to think that higher interest rates will cause banks to face loan losses due to borrower defaults. The financial sector was the worst performer among the S&P 500, down 4.5% on its worst day since 2020.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipate an increase of 224,000 in nonfarm payrolls, indicating a deceleration from the exceptionally large 517,000 rises seen in January.

Hong Kong stocks tumble

Asia-Pacific shares retreated as investors await February’s closely watched nonfarm payrolls report from the US, which will further determine the direction of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.68% to 28,143.98, while the Topix lost 1.92% to 2,031.57 as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady at -0.2%.

The Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged, in line with expectations.

The central bank kept interest rates negative at -0.1% and reiterated its goal of keeping Japan’s 10-year bond yield close to 0%.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 3.08%, leading to the region’s biggest losses. In China, the Shenzhen Composite retreated 1.3% and the Shanghai Composite 1.5% as China’s Xi Jinping officially won a third term as president.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.27% to end at 7,144.6 as the sell-off continued on Wall Street, led by banking stocks amid lingering challenges at Silicon Valley Bank. South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.02% at 2,394.58, while the Kosdaq was down 2.56% at 788.50.

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