Tesla, Netflix Slammed As Stocks Fall On Weak Jobs Data, Trump Covid Case

The announcement that President Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus triggered a sell-off in early morning trading around the world on Friday that tapered off by day’s end. Tech stocks, however, failed to recover, as Wall Street investors prepare for increased volatility in the weeks leading up to the election.

 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 251 points, or 2.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 134 points, or 0.5%, and the S&P 500 fell 1%.

 

Tech stocks were among Friday’s biggest losers, with Tesla and Netflix falling 7% and 5%, respectively, while Apple and Microsoft were each down 3%.

 

Cboe's VIX Index, which measures volatility expectations based on options contracts, at one point jumped up more than 7%, reaching its highest point since early September, when tech stocks corrected and the Nasdaq had its fastest 10% plunge in history.

 

U.S. airline stocks proved a bright spot in the Friday market after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said lawmakers were preparing relief for the industry through either a broad-based stimulus bill or standalone legislation.

 

The S&P 500 Airlines Industry Index ended the day up 2.3%.

 

Jobs data released before the market open revealed that U.S. employers added just 661,000 jobs in September, about 25% less than the 859,000 new jobs economists were forecasting and less than half of the nearly 1.5 million jobs the economy added back in August.

 

The unemployment rate of 7.9% was better than the forecast of 8.2%, but it's still far below the 3.5% unemployment rate in February–before governments shut down businesses after a domestic spike in coronavirus cases.

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