March 6 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures extended declines on Friday as a softer-than-expected jobs report raised worries about the labor market and boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could imminently cut interest rates.
A Labor Department report showed the U.S. economy shed 92,000 jobs last month, compared with economists’ estimate for a rise of 59,000. The unemployment rate stood at 4.4%, compared with expectations of 4.3%.
Separate data showed retail sales fell by 0.2% in January, compared with expectations for a decline of 0.3%.
At 08:34 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 357 points, or 0.74%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 52.5 points, or 0.77%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 244 points, or 0.97%.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
Comments