Interest Rate Worries May Weigh On Wall Street After Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Friday following the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 37 points.

The downward momentum for the markets comes after the Labor Department released a report showing much stronger than expected job growth in the month of October.

While the strong job growth is a positive sign for the U.S. economy, the data increases the likelihood the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.

The report said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 271,000 jobs in October following a downwardly revised increase of 137,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected an increase of about 185,000 jobs.

The strong job growth helped push the unemployment rate down to 5.0 percent in October from 5.1 percent in September, matching economist estimates.

With the modest decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting a matching rate in April of 2008.

The focus on the jobs report was intensified by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's recent comments about interest rates.

In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, Yellen said a December rate hike would be a "live possibility" if the incoming economic data supports such a move.