US stocks fall as war angst overshadows stellar jobs growth

Stocks retreated as concerns that war risks are intensifying overshadowed stronger-than-forecast American jobs data.

Equities headed toward a weekly loss, while the greenback rose to the highest level since 2020 and Treasury 10-year yields traded below 1.8%. Europe’s common currency approached a key support level that goes back to the euro’s inception in 1999. As Russia’s isolation chokes supply of energy, metals and crops, commodities are staging their most-stunning weekly surge since the 1974 oil crisis.

U.S. hiring boomed in February, showing a strong labor market that likely keeps the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this month while offering some respite from strong inflationary pressures. Nonfarm payrolls increased 678,000 last month — the most since July — after upward revisions in the prior two months. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.8%, and average hourly earnings were little changed from the prior month.