Wall Street’s three main indexes weakened last week even though the U.S. job market surprised so much to the upside, and the war between Ukraine and Russia continues to keep investors in a negative mood.
The U.S. released the Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday, which showed that the country added 678K jobs in February.
The job report surpassed economists’ estimate of 390K for February, and it is important to say that this was the biggest gain in the last seven months, with growth concentrated in the services sector. Commerzbank senior economists Christoph Balz and Bernd Weidensteiner wrote in a note:
The U.S. labor market is experiencing a noticeable upswing. Overall, employment is increasing at a much faster pace than before the pandemic.
The unemployment rate fell to 3.8%, the lowest since February 2020, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that he would support a 25-basis-point interest rate increase at the central bank’s March 15-16 policy meeting.
FED members believe that inflation is likely to continue higher-than-predicted for longer, and the U.S. central bank could move more aggressively if inflation remains high.
On the other side, Russia’s attack on Ukraine remains in focus, and much of the indexes’ losses can be attributed to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia has shelled Europe’s largest nuclear plant, Zaporizhzhia, and Vladimir Putin said that he aims to reach its goals despite many countries’ leaders calling him to put a halt to the war.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now on its eleventh day, and the volatility of the U.S. stock market should remain high in the next week as events in Ukraine have a big influence on market moves.
S&P 500 down -1.27% on a weekly basis
For the week, S&P 500 (SPX ) weakened by -1.27% and closed at 4,328 points.
Data source: tradingview.com
The upside potential remains limited for the week ahead, and if the price falls below 4,200 points, it would be a strong “sell” signal.
DJIA down -1.30% on a weekly basis
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) weakened -1.30% for the week and closed at 33,614 points.
Data source: tradingview.com
The current support level stands at 33,000 points, and if the price falls below this level, the next target could be 32,500 points. If the price jumps above 34,500 points, the next target could be resistance at 35,000 points.
Nasdaq Composite down -2.78% on a weekly basis
Nasdaq Composite (COMP) has lost -2.78% on a weekly basis and closed at 13,313 points.
Data source: tradingview.com
The current support level stands at 13,000 points, and if the price falls below this level, the next target could be 12,500 points.
Summary
Wall Street’s three main indexes weakened last week even though the U.S. job market surprised so much to the upside and showed that the country added 678K jobs in February. The job report surpassed economists’ estimate of 390K for February, but Russia’s attack on Ukraine remains in focus, and much of the indexes’ losses can be attributed to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
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