Dow Jones Plunges 500 Points on Friday as Weak Jobs Data and New Tariffs Spark a Sell - off
On Friday, the US financial markets experienced a period of intense turmoil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a significant drop of 500 points, registering a remarkable one - day decline. The market sell - off was mainly triggered by weak jobs data and newly introduced tariff policies, with investor panic spreading and concerns about the US economic outlook rising sharply.
In the early trading on that day, the July jobs report released by the US Department of Labor was like a bombshell, shattering the calm of the market.
The data showed that the US economy added only 73,000 jobs last month, far below the market expectation of 104,000. Moreover, the Department of Labor significantly revised down the jobs data for May and June. The non - farm payrolls in May were revised down from 144,000 to 19,000, and those in June were revised down from 147,000 to 14,000. A total of 258,000 job positions were revised down for the two months, and this revision magnitude was astonishing.
The significant slowdown in job growth and the substantial downward revision of previous data severely hit the market's confidence in US economic growth. Previously, the market generally expected the job market to maintain relatively stable growth, providing support for the economic recovery. However, the release of this data has made investors re - evaluate the economic outlook, and concerns about the economy possibly slipping into a slowdown or even a recession have risen rapidly.
At the same time, the new tariff policy signed by US President Trump further exacerbated market panic. The new tariff policy involves imposing tariffs on a variety of goods from dozens of trading partners, and this move has triggered a new round of tension in global trade. The increase in tariffs means higher costs for enterprises, especially those that rely on imported raw materials or are engaged in export - oriented businesses.
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