[New York Stock Exchange] Despite Employment Shock, All Three Major Indices Close at Record Highs... Dow Up 0.43%

On September 9 (local time), all three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed at record highs. Although concerns grew as the annual revision of nonfarm payrolls was adjusted downward by a larger margin than expected, expectations for an interest rate cut also increased.

On this day, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session at 45,711.34, up 196.39 points (0.43%) from the previous trading day. The large-cap S&P 500 Index rose 17.46 points (0.27%) to close at 6,512.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Index jumped 80.79 points (0.37%) to finish at 21,879.489.

Reuters Yonhap News

All three major New York stock indices set new all-time closing highs.

The U.S. Department of Labor released a preliminary annual benchmark revision of nonfarm payrolls, reflecting the 12-month employment and wage survey (QCEW) through the first quarter of this year.

During this period, the number of nonfarm jobs was revised down by 911,000 compared to the previous estimate, indicating that the initial figures had overstated new job creation. This suggests that job growth had stagnated even before President Donald Trump began imposing reciprocal tariffs globally.

Wall Street's average forecast had anticipated a decrease of 680,000 jobs. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant also recently stated in an interview that there could be a downward revision of up to around 800,000 jobs.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said this report confirmed that the U.S. economy is slowing down. Citing a slowdown in consumer spending and still solid corporate profits, he noted, "There are various factors intertwined in the economy right now. We just have to wait and see." He added that while the Federal Reserve may lower the benchmark interest rate at the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, "it may not have a significant impact on the economy."

With clearer signs of a slowdown in the labor market, expectations for an interest rate cut have risen. According to CME FedWatch, the federal funds rate futures market reflected a 91.7% probability that the Fed will cut the current 4.25-4.5% rate by 0.25 percentage points in September. The probability of a 0.5 percentage point cut was reflected at 8.3%.

Wall Street is closely watching the August Producer Price Index (PPI) on September 10 and the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) on September 11 while awaiting next week's Fed FOMC meeting. These indicators are expected to provide insight into the impact of President Trump's tariff policies and the potential need for more aggressive rate cuts.

By stock, Apple unveiled its new iPhone 17 lineup on this day, but failed to meet consumer expectations, resulting in a 1.48% drop in its share price.

In contrast, shares of major big tech companies, including Nvidia (up 1.46%), Microsoft (up 0.04%), Amazon (up 1.02%), Meta (up 1.78%), Google parent company Alphabet (up 2.47%), and Tesla (up 0.16%), rose.

UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer, surged 8.6% after announcing that the number of subscribers to its Medicare (public health insurance for seniors and others) plans is expected to meet expectations.

JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, rose 1.7% after executives projected that investment banking (IB) revenue would grow in the low double digits in the third quarter, and that market revenue would grow in the high teens for the third quarter.

U.S. Treasury yields are on the rise. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, the global benchmark for bond yields, rose 3.4 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) from the previous day to 4.08%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which is sensitive to monetary policy, rose 5.5 basis points to 3.55%.

International oil prices climbed as Israel launched airstrikes on Doha, the capital of Qatar, in an effort to eliminate the leadership of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $62.63 per barrel, up $0.37 (0.59%) from the previous session.