Stronger jobs data fail to boost US markets; Dow Jones and S&P500 close slightly lower

The US markets ended mixed on Wednesday after the economy added 1,30,000 jobs in January. The better-than-expected reading on non-farm payrolls boosted the markets at the beginning of the session, but gains were short-lived, as the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 closed 0.1% lower, while the NASDAQ gained 0.3% on Wednesday.

The investor sentiment soured after major revisions in the previous year’s jobs data. The 2025 non-farm payrolls were revised downwards to 1,81,000 from 5,84,000 reported earlier. This is the weakest reading for the US economy since 2020, when the whole economy was shut.

The better-than-expected non-farm payroll data boosted the yields higher as it trimmed the bets for rate cuts. The US 10-year yields jumped to 4.2% in the initial reaction to the jobs data, but later closed slightly at 4.18%. The consensus estimates indicate two more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026.

The strong jobs data also arrested the fall in the Dollar as it closed almost flat on Wednesday. The greenback is under pressure over rising concerns about the health of the US economy. The US dollar index closed flat at 96.9 on Wednesday after swinging in volatility on either side. The US Dollar has fallen nearly 3% against the Japanese Yen after the landslide victory by Prime Minister Takaichi, who is reigniting expansionary policy in Japan after decades of stagnation.

At the individual stock level, Vertiv Holdings jumped 17% after the company reported strong earnings and provided solid guidance. The company is a key beneficiary AI tailwind as it provides data centre infrastructure to Nvidia.