NEW YORK, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday as investors raised expectations of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve following a surprisingly strong August employment report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 271.86 points, or 0.51 percent, to 53,414.25. The S&P 500 sank 29.11 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,718.6. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 77.07 points, or 0.29 percent, to 26,506.99.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, with consumer discretionary and health leading the laggards by dropping 1.26 percent and 1.04 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, industrials and technology led the gainers by adding 0.41 percent and 0.23 percent, respectively.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, far exceeding the 53,000 expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, as anticipated. Employment figures for June and July were also revised higher.
Following the robust jobs data, traders raised the probability of a rate hike by the Fed at the September meeting to roughly 58 percent, according to CME Group data.
"The August jobs report was stronger than expected, with construction one of the bright spots," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. "The stronger number could result in a September rate hike, but we still have next week's inflation numbers."
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday complained about the selloff in stock markets following the latest jobs report and urged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates instead.
"Lower the interest rates because the U.S.A. is a much stronger credit than it was just a short time ago! ... We should have the LOWEST RATE of any country in the World, like 'the old days,'" Trump wrote in a post on social media.
Trump's resumption of a pressure campaign on the Fed and a threat to halt trade with some trading partners also weighed on market sentiment.
Trump asked the Fed Board to "get smart" and be "patriots" for a change and threatened to halt trade with countries with which the United States runs a trade deficit.
In individual stock moves, Lululemon plunged more than 17 percent after the athleisure apparel company cut its revenue and profit guidance and reported a decline in second-quarter revenue. Tesla fell nearly 6 percent after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying its new Cybercab model and related issues.
