Global equities markets dropped for a fourth day yesterday, with Wall Street again slumping as investors shrugged off economic data showing solid improvement in US labour markets.

Treasury prices rose, while the dollar moved lower.

US stock indices slid about 0.5 per cent, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 index of top companies had its worst single-day drop since April on Thursday.

Confusion over Federal Reserve policy and ongoing tensions in Ukraine and Gaza were blamed for the US sell-off. But Wall Street’s losses may not be over, according to Nick Sargen, chief economist at Fort Washington Investment Advisors in Cincinnati.

“We’re still not cheap by any means, and this could be the start of the 10 per cent correction that’s been long overdue,” he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 81.93 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 16,481.37. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 7.23 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 1,923.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 30.47 points, or 0.70 per cent, at 4,339.31.

Losses were broad, with more than 70 per cent of companies traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq lower. The only sectors to rise were defensive, with consumer staples up 0.7 per cent and utilities up 0.2 per cent.

The US drop added to a global decline that began on Thursday with Wall Street. The MSCI All-Country World index, which has been off nearly all week, was down 0.64 per cent at 420.35.

Japan’s Nikkei index dropped to a one-week low and European shares were off 1.23 per cent.

US Treasury yields eased on publication of July’s US employment data, which included a sixth straight month of job additions over 200,000 in the world’s biggest economy and soft hourly wage increases.

Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 17/32 in price to yield 2.50 per cent, down from 2.58 per cent before the jobs data was released.”It’s a Goldilocks report for an economy that is steadily expanding but not lifting off. It will reinforce for now the Federal Reserve’s commitment to a gradualist policy approach,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz in Newport Beach, California.

US job growth slowed more than anticipated in July and an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate pointed to some slack in the labour market, which was seen as giving the Fed room to keep interest rates low for a while.

The dollar, which has been climbing on hopes US rates would rise sooner rather than later, moved lower. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback versus six major currencies, had traded near 10-month highs but was down 0.22 per cent at 81.28.

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