Retailers and other consumer companies fell sharply after a report the Federal Trade Commission may launch an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.com.
A robust jobs report, which showed U.S. employers added 517,000 employees in January and pushed the unemployment rate to a 53-year low, had mixed implications for Federal Reserve policy.
"Today's payroll is what you want to see coming out of a recession, not the sort of report you want as you're hoping for the Fed to complete its rate hike cycle," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at brokerage LPL Financial.
"Today's report is yet another reminder that this economy is resilient. You don't go into a recession, unless it's an exogenous shock, until the labor market starts shutting down."
Nordstrom shares rose after "meme" stock guru and activist investor Ryan Cohen launched a campaign against board member Mark Tritton, who the founder of petfood company Chewy had previously criticized while Tritton was chief executive of Bed Bath & Beyond.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-03-23 1721ET
