Concerns over US jobs and growth weigh on markets

Volatility likely to increase but experts see upside for risk equities remaining intact

- Ven Sreenivasan Senior Columnist

Market Watch Senior Columnist Soft US jobs data has rattled markets, even as expectations of US Federal Reserve rate cuts have risen in recent days.

Overlay this with increasing concerns over geopolitics and nervousness over the outcome of the US presidential election in November, and the result is an unwelcome brew of volatility and nervousness.

After data showed US job openings slumping to their lowest level in more than three years, Sept 6 saw the August non-farm payroll rise falling short of market expectations.

A softer job market often leads to depressed consumer sentiment and spending, key factors which have been driving the US economy.

While the latest data is likely to reinforce the Fed's move to start cutting interest rates on Sept 18, the bigger issue looming on the horizon is whether the numbers also suggest a rapid decline in US economic growth.

As the saying goes, if the US economy coughs, the global economy could catch a bad case of the cold.

More so as Europe and China the other two key markets supporting the global economy continue to struggle with their own economic issues and growth woes.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial index had its worst week since 2023 as it tripped 2.93 per cent to 40,345.41 points.

The broader S&P 500 sank 4.25 per cent to 5,408.42 as nervousness pervaded trading throughout the week.

Meanwhile, a minor tech meltdown which saw Nvidia lose some US$406 billion (S$529 billion) in market capitalisation during the week resulted in the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumping 5.77 per cent to 16,690.83 points.

The Nasdaq is now down by 0.33 per cent over the past 30 days.

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index traded within a 75-point range before closing out the week with a 0.3 per cent gain at 3,454.47 points.