NFP: Jobs Data Slides Badly Below Consensus with 114,000 New Hires in July. Selloff Ahead?

Stock market is staring into deep losses as investors flee for exits after July jobs data poured cold water on the steady stream of good economic data.

• Jobs data, the US nonfarm payrolls USNFP
• , slipped way more than expected for July. America’s employers added 114,000 new hires to the economy, badly undershooting the 174,000 expected and the downwardly revised 179,000 jobs added in June. The surprise slump across the workforce sent shockwaves around financial markets — the US dollar plummeted in forex deals and stock index futures fell sharply ahead of the opening bell.
• The slowdown in job growth was way more pronounced than previously anticipated. And it may have materialized some of Wall Street’s worst fears. Namely, did the Federal Reserve miss the window of opportunity when a cut to interest rate would’ve avoided a sharp downturn in employment that could potentially lead to a recession? (Flashbacks to when the Fed said inflation was transitory.) The US central bank kept rates steady this week and weighed a cut to borrowing costs when they meet again in mid-September.
• The cooling in the labor market sent the US dollar lower across the board. The EUR/USD pair jumped roughly 1% to $1.0860 after previously floating at levels under $1.08. The USD/JPY extended its decline to what’s shaping up to the fifth straight day of losses. Futures contracts tied to the major averages are down (can someone shut down exchanges today?) with Nasdaq futures showing a drop of more than 3%. Dow futures are staring at a 600-point loss and S&P 500 futures are looking to pop out of the gate head first with a tumble of 2%.