Fears that the US economy is slowing, with firms shedding jobs and imposing hiring freezes, sent Wall Street tumbling on Thursday.
The S&P 500 index of leading firms was down 1.1% as investors also highlighted concerns about the potential for a slump in the value of businesses that have benefited from huge investments in artificial intelligence. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9%.
A report showed that last month was the worst October for US layoffs since 2003, which grabbed the attention of investors in the absence of official data delayed by the federal government shutdown. Companies cut jobs and imposed hiring freezes, according to the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Chris Beauchamp, the chief market analyst at the trading platform IG.com, said: “The lack of US data and the ongoing government shutdown is making investors nervous.”
US markets have been rattled by a review of Donald Trump’s tariffs by the supreme court, which could result in the US president being forced to abandon his flagship policy.
A lack of official data has also forced the Federal Reserve to judge the state of the US economy with only a fraction of the information it would usually sift before judging the level of interest rates.
Beauchamp said the Fed and financial markets had found themselves “groping around in the dark” after the suspension of inflation and employment data.
Speaking on CNBC, the Fed board member Austan Goolsbee said the lack of official data on inflation during the government shutdown accentuated his caution about cutting interest rates further.
“I lean more to the: when it’s foggy, let’s just be a little careful and slow down,” he said.
The survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that employers announced 153,074 job cuts last month, compared with 55,597 in October 2024. It said US firms announced the termination of 1.09m roles during the first 10 months of this year, up 44% from the 761,358 cuts in 2024. Technology businesses led private-sector layoffs, it added.
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The FTSE 100 fell 41 points or 0.4%. European stocks also fell. The Stoxx Europe 600 closed 0.7% lower, with tech stocks suffering the heaviest losses, and the Dax in Germany fell 1.3%.
Beauchamp said: “If the supreme court rolls back some of the tariffs then inflationary worries will subside to an extent, though this is a topic that will not come to fruition for weeks.”
Tech valuations have ballooned, and fears of a bubble loom large. “In the US, most of the big tech beasts have reported earnings but there is still lingering concerns about those lofty valuations and the mind-boggling sums of cash being invested into the AI dream,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
