U.S. stocks open sharply lower after stronger-than-expected jobs data

U.S. stock indexes opened lower on Friday after the November jobs report shows a sign of continued strength in the labor market, raising concerns that the Federal Reserve’s policy will remain tighter for longer. The U.S. created a robust 263,000 new jobs in November, a historically strong pace of hiring that threatens to prolong a bout of high U.S. inflation. The unemployment rate held at 3.7%, while the average hourly earnings rose twice as much as forecast. The S&P 500 lost 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3%. The policy sensitive 2-year Treasury yields jumped to 4.364% from 4.254% on Thursday.

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