US job openings drop significantly
US job openings drop significantly, and the number of job openings in the United States fell sharply in February, pointing to a cooling labor market that could boost risk appetite among investors.
The Labor Department said on Tuesday that job openings, a measure of labor demand, declined by 10% from the 11.17 million reported in July and more than a million less than expected.
Economists had expected job openings to fall since reaching a record high of 7.63 million in July 2019 as businesses cut back on hiring amid a slowing economy.
The decline in job postings suggests that companies are starting to feel less confident about their business outlooks and may be more hesitant to add workers.
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US job openings drop significantly
Fed stands firm
The US dollar drops
Fed stands firm
As the Fed maintains its stance, stocks stage a tremendous surge but may have hit a wall.
As a result of the Fed’s pledge to keep rates low for the foreseeable future, stocks had a significant surge today on the stock market. In the first hour of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by more than 400 points or 1.6%. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both increased by roughly 2%.
However, the Fed’s policy statement may have caused the rally to falter. The central bank indicated that it would “keep a careful watch” on inflation and employment, indicating that it was not in a rush to hike rates.
The central bank indicated that it would “keep a careful watch” on inflation and employment, indicating that it was not in a rush to hike rates.
The Dow fell more than 100 points from its day’s highs as a result of the remark. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both declined.
Investors were closely monitoring the most recent developments in the U.S.-China trade dispute. The two nations will pick up their trade negotiations again the following week, and there are rumors that the United States is considering a partial agreement that would suspend some duties.
The US dollar drops
The US dollar retraced some of its losses on Thursday but the kiwi bucked the trend after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand hiked interest rates. The RBNZ raised rates by 25 basis points to 1.75% as expected, but signaled that it was in no hurry to raise rates further. This weighed on the kiwi, which fell against most major currencies except for the Australian dollar and Japanese yen.
Against the greenback, NZD/USD fell to a low of 0.7273 before recovering somewhat to trade at 0.7300 in early European trading hours. The pair is likely to find support at 0.7250 and resistance at 0.,7350 Traders will be closely watching Friday’s release of US non-farm payroll data for clues about future Fed rate hikes. A strong jobs report could give the dollar a boost while a weak report could see the kiwi resume its rally.