AdvertisementAdvertisementSpecialist Michael Pistillo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Aug 5, 2026, in New York. (Photo: AP/Yuki Iwamura)08 Aug 2026 05:31AM Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInAdd CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.Read a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST NEW YORK: The dollar fell sharply Friday (Aug 7) after the US economy shed thousands of jobs in July, an economic blow that lowered the risk of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve that could slow growth in the world's biggest economy.Stocks gained on the report that showed 23,000 jobs were lost last month, upending expectations that 80,000 to 100,000 new posts would be created. Wall Street's S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to close at a new record, with the tech-focused Nasdaq up more than one percent and the Dow also closing in the black.Nearly every European market closed higher, with Paris, Frankfurt and Milan again reaching all-time highs.Combined with steep downward revisions to US jobs readings in May and June, the data is "likely to revive concerns among Fed officials about the health of the labour market and make them less inclined to commit to near-term tightening," said Thomas Ryan, an economist at Capital Economics.Art Hogan at B. Riley Wealth Management said the new data would likely give the Federal Reserve pause in considering interest rate hikes."It certainly changed the dynamic of the predicting markets about monetary policy," he told AFP. "There was a little bit of a respite in the rise in Treasury yields ... and that also takes away a bit of a headwind for equities."US Fed dissenters call for rate hikes over sustained inflationUS economic growth slows in second quarter, missing expectationsStocks have powered ahead in recent sessions, fuelled largely by tech names after corporate earnings beat forecasts and eased fears about when massive AI investments would start paying off. Hopes for an imminent US-Iran deal to end the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz added to optimism that oil and gas, along with other key products, would again start flowing freely after more than five months of war.But oil prices turned higher ahead of the weekend in the absence of any confirmation of an accord, amid reports that Iran was planning to block US and Israeli ships from the waterway.Analysts said prices were unlikely to fall back to levels seen before the US-Iran war, when the main futures contracts were under US$70 a barrel, absent concrete signs of progress after days of conflicting comments from officials on both sides.Source: AFP/fsSign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST