Stock markets fall after US jobs report

Stocks fell after US jobs data raised the prospect the US Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive montetary tightening. ©AFP

Paris (AFP) - Stock markets mostly fell on Friday after US government data showed employers added jobs at a better-than-expected pace last month, raising the prospect that the Federal Reserve will continue its aggressive monetary tightening.

Wall Street was just over one percent lower in morning trading, while Paris and Frankfurt both closed slightly down.London's FTSE 100 was closed for a holiday.

Oil prices, meanwhile, pushed higher, a day after the OPEC+ group of major oil producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to raise output more than expected in the wake of a European Union ban on most Russian crude.

American employers added 390,000 jobs last month, a sign of a slowdown in hiring but still above forecasts amid a shortage of workers, official figures showed.

The jobless rate held steady at 3.6 percent for the third consecutive month, according to the US Labor Department.

"Robust hiring in May pretty much guarantees the Fed will move forward with a couple half-point rate hikes at the next two meetings," said OANDA analyst Edward Moya.

'Deserting the market'

US indices had rallied on Thursday following a weaker-than-expected reading in a separate US private sector jobs report.

The data from payroll firm ADP sparked hopes that the US central bank may be less aggressive than initially anticipated in tightening its monetary policy.

The Fed has hiked interest rates to combat decades-high inflation but investors worry that more aggressive moves could backfire and hamper economic growth.

Friday's non-farm payroll (NFP) figures could now reinforce the Fed's resolve to tackle inflation.

"The doves that were cheering the terrible ADP report yesterday are deserting the market after the strong NFP read today," Swissquote bank analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya told AFP.

Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard warned on Thursday that she did not yet see any reason to take a breather in the third quarter.

The European Central Bank has indicated it will raise its own rates in July for the first time in over a decade.

Tokyo's stock market closed higher ahead of the latest US jobs report.Hong Kong and Chinese mainland indices were closed for holidays.

Among major companies, Tesla shares fell more than six percent after Reuters news agency reported that chief executive Elon Musk wanted to cut about 10 percent of jobs at the electric car firm, citing an email in which he said he has a "super bad feeling" about the economy.

Elsewhere, Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, rose nearly two percent, to $119.91 per barrel.

OPEC+ agreed on Thursday to ramp up output in July by 50 percent more than in previous months.

"Crude prices are consolidating after an OPEC+ hangover and a robust nonfarm payroll report that suggests the consumer is still in decent shape," Moya said.