Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
NEW YORK: The Dow retreated from a record close to open lower Friday after US unemployment posted a nine-year low and anticipated weekend votes in Austria and Italy sent European shares lower.
The US jobless rate fell three-tenths to 4.6% in November, with a solid 178,000 net new positions created, the Department of Labour reported.
Markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt fell as polls suggest Italy will vote against a referendum supported by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who could resign with a defeat.
Polls also suggest far-right Austrian presidential candidate Norbert Hofer has a good shot of winning Sunday’s presidential race, an outcome that could further embolden anti-eurozone interests.
Five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2% to 19,152.55.
The broad-based S & P 500 was essentially flat at 2,191.20, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was also unchanged at 5,251.12. - Reuters
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