Markets June 7, 2024, 10:18AM EDT Published 1 minute earlier on

UPDATED: June 7, 2024, 10:34AM EDT

U.S. job growth increased more than expected in May, a reading that could potentially prompt the Federal Reserve to delay cutting interest rates.

On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.0% for the first time since January 2022, while non-farm payrolls (NFPs) increased by 272,000 jobs last month, surpassing economists' forecasts.

The dollar rebounded broadly in the early U.S. trading session following the stronger-than-expected employment data, while bitcoin made gains despite equity indices moving lower.

The employment data coming out of the U.S. hit risk assets. Major European and UK equity indices were red. In London, the FTSE 100 posted a 37.45-point decrease to 8,254.60 in mid-day trading.

The regional Stoxx 600 index traded up in Europe, retraced yesterday's gains and dropped 0.35% to 522.80. Meanwhile, in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 0.23%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the NASDAQ decreased by 0.42%.

Bitcoin moved lower with depressed equity markets in Friday's trading. The world's largest digital asset by market cap increased by around 0.2% in the past day and was changing hands for $71,366 at 10:08 a.m.ET., according toThe Block's Price Pages.

The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates as expected on Thursday. The European monetary policymakers' move lowers theECBskey rate to 3.75%, down from a record high of 4%, where it has been since September 2023. It's the first time the ECB has cut rates since 2019.

The move by the ECB to cut rates comes after the Bank of Canada (BoC) lowered its policy rate to 4.75% on Wednesday, having held it at 5% since July last year.

Canada was the first G7 country to loosen monetary policy in the current cycle, followed by the ECB.

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Bitcoin rebounds from drop with equity indices as strong US jobs data poses challenge to Fed rate cuts - The Block