Traders were seen working on the floor of the American Stock Exchange in New York on Monday, December 15, 2025.
U.S. stock futures took a slight dip on Tuesday as market players reflected on the job reports from November.
The futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 36 points, marking a 0.1% decrease. Similarly, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures saw declines of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November’s employment data came in better than anticipated, with payrolls growing by 64,000. Economists had predicted an increase of 45,000 jobs for the month.
However, the BLS also reported a job loss of 105,000 for October. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.6%, which was higher than the Dow Jones forecast of 4.5%. This has raised some concerns about the health of the U.S. economy.
Christopher Rapkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, expressed worry, stating, “The market better hope this jobs report is distorted because this is bad, bad news for the economy and the outlook for 2026. It’s almost a miracle if we avoid a recession next year. A weak job market spells trouble for job seekers, and there’s no immediate solution from Washington.”
All three major U.S. indexes closed in the negative on Monday, primarily dragged down by losses in key artificial intelligence stocks.
Broadcom dropped 5.6% during the session, while ServiceNow fell a substantial 11.5%. Oracle experienced a decrease of 2.7%, and Microsoft’s stock also closed lower as investors began reallocating to sectors such as healthcare and utilities after profiting from high AI trades. Despite these fluctuations, the U.S. stock market is still on track for a successful year, with all sectors of the S&P 500 showing growth.
Chris Verrone, head of technical and macro research at Strategas, shared a more optimistic view on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” stating, “If you look at the real economic corner of the market, I think there’s potential for the next four, five, six months.” He noted the positive developments in sectors like industrials, financials, discretionary goods, and materials, indicating a genuine economic strength.
