U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 recording their fourth straight session of losses and notching their worst weeks since March as investors digested July jobs data and the latest corporate earnings from some of the biggest tech companies. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shed 0.4% or 150.27 points to end at 35,065.62 points, recording its third straight day of losses.

The S&P 500 slid 0.5% or 23.86 points to close at 4,478.03 points, notching their fourth consecutive day of losses. Tech and utility stocks were the biggest losers.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 1.24%. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) fell 1.2%, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) dropped 1%. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.4% or 50.48 points to finish at 13,902 points, falling for the fourth straight day.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 7.41% to 17.10. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.22-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.14-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 11.39 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 10.87 billion.

Investors Parse Jobs Report, Big Tech Earnings

Stocks fell on Friday after initial gains as fresh labor-market data showed that the U.S. economy continued to add jobs in massive numbers in July. Data also showed that average hourly wages increased in July.

Besides, the unemployment rate also fell in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the number of jobs created in July was softer than in June, it is still high. Slower job growth has raised hopes that the Fed's aggressive rate hike stance has been having its impact and with inflation slowing, the economy could have a softer landing.

However, many are also concerned that the rise in hourly wages might raise worries for the Fed. Treasury yields fell following the release of the jobs report. The 10-year Treasury Yield fell 12.06 basis points to 4.06%, the largest daily drop since May.

Investors are now waiting for the July inflation data, which is scheduled for release next week.

Investors also digested corporate earnings from a batch of companies. Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. ((AMZN Quick QuoteAMZN - Free Report) ) jumped 8.3%, its highest level in almost a year after the company reported a solid earnings beat. Amazon reported quarterly earnings of $0.63 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.34 per share. Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Apple, Inc’s ((AAPL Quick QuoteAAPL - Free Report) ) shares fell 4.8% after the iPhone maker reported lower revenues compared to the year-ago quarter. Apple reported third-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings of $1.26 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19 per share. However, its net sales totaled $81.8 billion compared to $82.96 billion year-ago quarter, declining 1.4%.

Economic Data

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in July, lower than the economists’ expectations of 200,000. However, the unemployment rate also dropped to 3.5% in July from June’s 3.6%.

Although job additions softened, hourly wages increased 0.4% in July, increasing 4.4% from the past year.

Weekly Roundup

All the major indexes ended lower for the week. The Dow closed 1.1% down for the week. The S&P 500 ended 2.3% lower, while the Nasdaq finished 2.8% down for the week. The Dow and the S&P 500 their three straight weeks of gains. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their biggest weekly percentage losses since March.