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Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq slump after weak jobs report, Trump’s tariff redux
- Shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY) spiked at the open after the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is planning to experiment with allowing Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight-loss drugs.
- A plan obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated that state Medicaid programs and Medicare Part D insurance plans can voluntarily choose to cover Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound for weight management, the Post reported.
- It’s a signal that the administration is more open to GLP-1 drug coverage, despite reservations from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly stocks both popped 3% in the first 10 minutes of trading. On Thursday, the stocks sold off after President Trump sent a letter to 17 pharma companies demanding that they slash their drug prices in the US.
- US stocks sank at the market open on Friday after President Trump officially hit virtually every US trading partner with sweeping tariff hikes, and the June jobs report showed signs of a labor market slowdown.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 0.9%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell around 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank about 1.4%, on the heels of a losing day for the major US gauges.
- The big market action after a shocking July jobs report was being seen in the bond market Friday morning.
- Treasuries were in rally mode as traders moved to price in at least two interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. That reversed the moves seen Wednesday after the FOMC meeting, which saw Fed Chair Jay Powell talk down the need for rate cuts.
- The yield on 2-year Treasury notes fell by more than 17 basis points to as low as 3.78% Friday morning. The yield on 10-year notes fell by nearly 10 basis points to as low as 4.27%.
- Data from the CME Group showed the odds for a September rate cut from the Fed were as high as 75% following Friday’s report.
- The July jobs report showed the US economy added just 73,000 jobs last month while revisions to the May and June reports showed more than quarter million fewer jobs were added to the economy than previously reported.
- On Wednesday, odds for a September rate cut from the Fed were just 37%.
- Just before the release of Friday’s jobs report, two Fed governors — Chris Waller and Michelle Bowman — issued statements explaining their decision to vote against the Fed’s call to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday.
- Both suggested the US labor market is not as strong as recent data had shown, and that when the labor market turns, it may turn quickly. Waller and Bowman’s dissents on Wednesday marked the first time since 1993 that two members of the Fed’s Board of Governors voted against a policy action at the same meeting.
- President Trump, for his part, said Friday morning before the jobs numbers were released the Fed board should “ASSUME CONTROL” as Powell continues to face criticism from the president over his view that interest rates should remain at current levels.
- Figma (FIG) stock looked set to surge again on Friday, rising as much as 19% in premarket trading after shares rocketed higher with a gain of 250% in Thursday’s public market debut, Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley reports.
- Conley writes:
- Read the full story here.
- Here’s a look at US employment by sector in July.
- Where hiring picked up:
- Where hiring declined:
- Stock futures fell premarket after the July jobs report showed US nonfarm payrolls missed estimates.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) dropped 0.9%, while futures for the S&P 500 (ES=F) fell around 1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) sank 1.1%.
- Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer reports:
- Read more here.
- European stocks fell on Friday after President Trump confirmed new tariff rates, including a 15% tariff rate on goods from the European Union and a 10% rate for the UK.
- In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index (^FTSE) fell 0.5%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) index shed 0.75%, while Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) dropped 1.89% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris declined 2%.
- In a twist, Trump said the new tariffs will take effect a week from now, instead of today, as was originally telegraphed.
- Still, global markets were rattled by the latest change to US trade policy. Swiss manufacturers warned Friday that tens of thousands of jobs are at risk after President Trump imposed steep tariffs.
- European pharmaceutical companies, such as Novo Nordisk (NVO) and AstraZeneca (AZN), were also in the red Thursday and will be stocks to watch Friday after Trump sent a letter to 17 companies, urging them to lower prices.
- Chevron (CVX) beat analyst estimates on Friday for second-quarter profit as record oil and gas production and lower capital expenditure helped the US oil producer boost earnings despite weaker crude prices.
- Chevron shares were flat in premarket trading.
- Reuters reports:
- Read more here.
- Shares in Exxon Mobil (XOM) rose more than 1% before the bell on Friday after the company beat Wall Street estimate for second-quarter profit as higher oil and gas production helped the top US oil producer overcome lower crude prices.
- Reuters reports:
- Read more here.
- After a sizzling 250% surge on Thursday IPO day, Figma (FIG) is up another 8% premarket.
- You are watching the forming of a stock bubble in real time here! I encourage you to read up on the company’s not-so-impressive financials this weekend.
- The retreat in US stock futures accelerated on Friday morning as Wall Street weighed the likely fallout from President Trump’s trade war.
- The broad benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) was down 1% with four hours to go before the market open, having held not far below the flat line in earlier overnight trade.
- Futures on The Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) sank 0.9%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) dived 1.1%.
- Markets are assessing the reshaped US trade landscape after President Trump on Thursday hit dozens of countries — including crucial partners Taiwan and India — with steep new tariffs.
- The countdown is on for the release of the US nonfarm-payrolls reading for July, the final piece in a string of top-tier data this week. Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer lays out what’s in store:
- Read more here.
- Asian markets fell overnight Thursday following the White House’s announcement that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on many of America’s largest trading partners will be implemented in varying degrees of severity.
- Reuters reports:
- Read more here.
