Wall Street stocks opened slightly lower on Friday after a positive May hiring report led to an increase in US Treasury bond yields. The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, surpassing expectations, although the unemployment rate rose to four percent.
Following the release of the data, futures markets reduced the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September. Analyst Patrick O’Hare from Briefing.com noted that the Treasury market’s reaction indicated that the Fed’s inflation concerns were not eased by the report.
In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 38,831.03. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index also experienced slight declines.
Several regional banks saw a decrease in stock value after Moody’s placed them under review for a possible downgrade due to their exposure to commercial real estate risk. Some of the banks affected include Old National Bancorp and First Merchants Corporation.