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Markets Update: U.S. stocks decline amid volatile trading. February jobs report falls short of expectations. Bond selloff slows; euro poised for best week since 2009.
Global Markets Roundup: 7 March 2025
U.S. stocks and the dollar fell on Friday following a jobs report that came in weaker than anticipated, bolstering predictions of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. The 10-year Treasury yield also dropped, indicating increased worries about economic growth.
Jobs Report Fuels Rate Cut Bets
The U.S. economy gained 151,000 jobs in February, falling short of predictions, as unemployment slightly increased. This was the first employment report under President Donald Trump’s administration and concluded a turbulent week characterized by uncertainty regarding U.S. trade policy and increasing global borrowing costs.
Initially, Wall Street fluctuated between gains and losses before closing lower, with the Nasdaq entering a correction on Thursday—dropping over 10% from its December high, as Trump’s tariff policies heightened investor anxiety. After the data release, traders increased expectations for a Fed rate cut in June, with markets now anticipating three rate cuts for 2025. However, some analysts remain cautious.
FX, Stocks and Bonds
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 374.52 points (0.88%) to 42,204.56, the S&P 500 declined 65.78 points (1.15%) to 5,672.74, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 276.92 points (1.52%) to 17,793.96.
Global markets also experienced declines:
MSCI’s global stock index decreased by 0.43% to 846.73
Pan-European STOXX 600 dropped 0.5%, ending a 10-session winning streak
The euro EURUSD increased by 0.72% to $1.0861, marking its best weekly performance since 2009. The dollar weakened by 0.34% against the yen, reaching USDJPY 147.44. Bitcoin initially surged on Trump’s executive order to create a strategic crypto reserve but fell 2.90% to $86,879.83, as traders were disappointed by the lack of a firm plan for new token purchases.
Bond markets found some relief after a significant selloff in eurozone debt earlier in the week, triggered by Germany’s plans to revise its fiscal rules. The German 10-year Bund yield decreased by 5.5 basis points to 2.83%, while the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell by 2.3 basis points to 4.259%.
Commodities
Oil prices rose, with U.S. crude increasing by 1.48% to $67.34 per barrel, and Brent advancing by 1.54% to $70.53 per barrel. Gold for April delivery decreased by US$12.50 to US$2,914.10 per ounce.
In agricultural commodities, Cocoa futures moved toward $8,200 per tonne, attempting to rebound from recent four-month lows reached on March 4th, mainly due to dollar weakness that triggered short covering in cocoa futures. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ZS1! fell by 0.2% to $10.25-1/4 a bushel. CBOT corn ZC1! declined by 0.3% to $4.62-3/4 a bushel, while CBOT wheat ZW1! dropped by 1.5% to $5.45-1/2 a bushel.
Looking forward refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.
General news - Information source from multiple newswires.
The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!
The Trade Academy Team