Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 3, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
The S&P 500 pulled back from hitting an all-time high Friday after a weak August jobs report led traders to bet the data would lead the Federal Reserve to cut rates later this month.
The broad market index hovered around the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59 points, or 0.1%. All three leading indexes had reached fresh record intraday highs earlier in the session.
The August jobs report saw the U.S. economy add 22,000 jobs on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That’s below the 75,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had expected. The unemployment rate also rose to 4.3%, in line with expectations.
Traders are hoping the reading will lend support to the Fed’s case to go ahead with an expected rate cut at its September policy meeting. Fed funds futures trading suggests that benchmark interest rates will likely move a quarter percentage point lower when the central bank makes a decision on Sept.17, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Not only that, traders put a half-point cut in play for mid-month following the payrolls data, per the FedWatch tool. That’s up from a zero chance of a super-sized cut the day before.
“This gives the Fed the greenlight to cut by 25 basis points and I think it’s going to bring 50 basis points of rate cuts on the table for this September FOMC meeting and that’s why markets are positive,” said Saira Malik, Nuveen’s equities and fixed income head, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” (One basis point equals 0.01%.)
Investors were heading into the August nonfarm payrolls report with stocks coming off of a fresh record. They are betting rate cuts will recharge an economy that is flagging but still in no danger of a recession.
Stocks are also on pace for a winning week. The S&P 500 has climbed 1%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has registered a 1.8% gain. The 30-stock Dow has gained 0.4%.
A pop in Broadcom shares supported Friday’s move higher. That comes on the heels of the chipmaker’s latest quarterly results beating Wall Street’s expectations. The company’s chief executive, Hock Tan, also disclosed in a call with analysts that Broadcom had secured $10 billion in custom AI chip orders from a new customer.
