U.S. government bond prices plummeted and stocks fell, while the dollar rose on Friday as data showing unexpected strength in the job market and the service sector led investors to scale back expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut, according to Reuters. In the stock market, investors sold some shares after the strong payrolls report sent a chill down Wall Street at the prospect that the Fed may resume raising interest rates. Gold prices surged above $630 an ounce in New York for the first time in two months. The surge in the yields of Treasuries maturing in five years or less, which are particularly sensitive to expectations for official interest-rate moves, was on track to be the steepest daily climb in 18 months, reflecting investors' rapid shift in expectations for the Fed. The employment report showed the U.S. jobless rate fell to 4.4 percent in October, the lowest in more than five years, which derailed a Treasury bond market rally that had pushed yields down to one-month lows earlier this week. Bond yields and prices move inversely. "The bond market did not get verification in the employment numbers to continue the rally. This will take some of the wind out of the market's sails," said Kevin Flanagan, fixed-income strategist for global wealth management with Morgan Stanley in Purchase, New York. The two-year U.S. Treasury note fell 7/32 in price to 100-5/32, pushing its yield up to 4.80 percent from 4.68 percent on Thursday. "There's some renewed concerns about the Fed raising rates. The price of oil being up almost a dollar isn't helping, either," said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 50.35 points, or 0.42 percent, at 11,968.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.29 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,361.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 17.06 points, or 0.73 percent, at 2,316.96. The data also helped the dollar because it reinforced views that the Fed will hold its benchmark fed funds rate steady. The U.S. currency rose by its biggest margin in nearly a month against a basket of currencies -- with the U.S. Dollar Index hitting a session high at 85.91, a gain of about 0.7 percent. The dollar also got a lift from a report that indicated faster-than-expected growth in the U.S. services sector in October. At midday in New York, the euro fell 0.6 percent to $1.2693 from $1.2775 late Thursday. Against Japan's yen, the dollar climbed 0.9 percent to 118.09 yen from 117.10 yen late on Thursday in New York. Friday's data reversed some of the dollar's declines of recent weeks. U.S. stocks fell as a sharp rise in crude oil prices offset the stronger-than-expected economic data. A warning about sales from premium supermarket chain Whole Foods Market Inc. sent its stock down 24 percent, making it the biggest drag on the Nasdaq.
