US Equity Indexes Retreat With Crude Oil, Treasury Yields as Investors Parse Labor Market Data

01:04 PM EST, 12/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell along with government yields and crude oil in midday trading on Tuesday as investors weighed a deluge of macroeconomic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 48,041.7, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% to 6,772.9, and the Nasdaq Composite 0.4% lower at 22,969.5. All sectors were down, with health care and energy leading the retreat.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 64,000 in November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday, beating the consensus for a 50,000 increase in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The BLS report was delayed by more than a week because of the recent federal government shutdown. Private payrolls grew by 69,000, with the service industry adding 50,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest since September 2021, compared with Wall Street's expectation of 4.5%.

Hourly earnings rose by 0.1%, slower than the 0.3% gain expected, and following a 0.4% increase in October. Hourly earnings were up 3.5% year-over-year.

"The combined message of all of this (jobs) data is sufficiently muddled that it does not give a sense of whether broader downside risks to the labor market have intensified," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a report e-mailed to MT Newswires. "We still expect 50 (basis points) in further reductions during the first half of 2026, so our odds for a March cut remain high."

Further in economic news, the US Census Bureau reported Tuesday that retail sales were unchanged in October, compared with the Bloomberg-compiled consensus for growth of 0.1%. Retail sales excluding motor vehicles and gas components were up 0.5% on a sequential basis, compared with estimates for a 0.4% gain.

The flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global fell to 51.8 in December from 52.2 in November, below the 52.1 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and marking a five-month low. The index for services' conditions fell to 52.9, a six-month low, from 54.1, missing expectations for a smaller drop to 54.0.

Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 2.5 basis points to 4.16% and the two-year yield 2.7 basis points lower at 3.48%, reflecting a risk-off move.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures traded 2.5% lower at $55.39 a barrel, after hitting a 52-week low of $54.98, according to data compiled by CNBC.

The ICE US Dollar Index, which reflects the greenback's performance against a basket of the world's major currencies, slid 0.3% to 98.04.

In company news, International Business Machines (IBM) and Pearson (PSO) unveiled a partnership to create personalized AI-driven learning products for businesses, public organizations, and educational institutions. Shares of IBM (IBM) dropped 2.4%, the worst performer on the Dow.

Microsoft (MSFT)-backed (MSFT) OpenAI's recent deal to license Walt Disney (DIS) characters for its Sora video app is entirely in stock warrants instead of a cash licensing fee, Bloomberg News reported. Shares of Disney (DIS) climbed 0.7%, the top gainer on the Dow.

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