Futures fall sharply as jobs data fuels rate hike worries

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell sharply on Friday, as data showed bigger-than-expected job additions last month and a drop in the unemployment rate, giving more room for the Federal Reserve to stick to aggressive interest-rate hikes.

The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 jobs last month after rising 315,000 in August.

The report also showed the jobless rate was at 3.5% in September, below expectations of 3.7%. Traders now see a 89.8% chance of 75 basis-point hike by the Fed, up from 83.4% before data.

Aggressive interest rate hikes have made businesses more cautious about the economy, but the labor market remains tight, giving the Fed ample leeway to continue with its monetary tightening plan.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc lost 6% in premarket trading, leading declines among chipmakers, as its third-quarter revenue estimates were about a billion dollars less than previously forecast, signaling the chip slump could be much worse than expected.

At 08:35 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 41 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 14.75 points, or 0.39%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 94.75 points, or 0.82%.

Moments before the data, Dow e-minis were up 71 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 3 points, or 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 18 points, or 0.16%.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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