Wall Street down, Dow Jones loses 815 points: concerns over jobs and geopolitical tensions

Wall Street opens lower on the seventh day of the Middle East conflict, as investors react to the unexpected drop in February’s employment data.

The main U.S. indices closed sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 815 points (-1.9%), while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite registered a decline of 1.6%.

The markets were also affected by the latest U.S. labor data. In February, Non Farm Payrolls (NFP) decreased by 92,000 points, a result far worse than the 126,000 increase recorded in January (later revised downward) and well below economists’ expectations, who, according to a survey conducted by Dow Jones & Company, had predicted a growth of around 50,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate also rose to 4.4%, compared to 4.3% the previous month, signaling a possible slowdown in the U.S. labor market.

Benedetta Zimone