The S&P 500 index eased 0.3% last week as investors sifted through mixed February employment numbers.
A record close on Thursday came after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was “not far” from being able to cut interest rates. While US stocks initially rose after the Friday morning release of the February jobs data, they ended lower as investors studied the jobs data more closely.
The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report showed the US economy added more jobs than expected in February. However, downward revisions were made to January and December’s payrolls. Also, the February unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to the highest since January 2022 and wage growth slowed.
The weekly S&P drop was due to declines in just three sectors: Consumer discretionary fell 2.6%, technology dropped 1.1% and communication services shed 0.6%. The gains in other sectors were paced by a 3.2% increase in utilities.
This week, economic data will include key inflation readings: the February consumer price index on Tuesday and the February producer price index on Thursday.
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