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NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks fell early Friday following weak US jobs data while Intel shares sank more than 25 per cent after it announced deep job cuts.
The US economy added 114,000 jobs last month, down from June's revised 179,000 figure, while the jobless rate rose to 4.3 per cent, the highest level since October 2021.
The new data come on the heels of downcast manufacturing data on Thursday that sent shares lower, stoking recession fears.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.9 per cent at 39,999.27.
The broad-based S&P 500 declined 1.3 per cent to 5,376.73, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.2 per cent to 16,815.21.
"The good news is that the July jobs report is supportive of imminent Fed interest rate cuts," said Jason Schenker of Prestige Economics.
"The bad news is that this is a weak jobs report, and the trends in slowing payrolls and the rise in the unemployment rate are worrisome."
Intel shares fell more than 27 per cent after it announced it would cut more than 15 per cent of its workforce while reporting a $1.6 billion quarterly loss.
Among other companies reporting earnings, Amazon plunged 11.7 per cent while Apple rose 2.4 per cent.