Jobs Numbers Disappoint, Markets End Week Confused And Lower

After ADP reported blowout jobs numbers for the private sector on Wednesday (+263,000), the expectations from the BLS in Friday's March non-farm payroll report were for a solid figure.

It didn't happen, as the Labor Department reported a gain of just 98,000 jobs, the worst since President Trump was elected and a blow to his "America First" agenda.

Expectations for the BLS' NFP were 180,000, so this was a huge miss which left investors scratching their collective heads. Stocks ended the day slightly to the downside and all four major averages lower for the week.

At the Close, Friday, April 7, 2017:
Dow: 20,656.10, -6.85 (-0.03%)
NASDAQ: 5,877.81, -1.14 (-0.02%)
S&P 500: 2,355.54, -1.95 (-0.08%)
NYSE Composite: 11,445.58, -11.71 (-0.10%)

For the week:
Dow: -7.12 (-0.03%)
NASDAQ: -33.93 (-0.57%)
S&P 500: -7.18 (-0.30%)
NYSE Composite: -47.27 (-0.41%)