Banking Concerns Trump Payrolls Report

The S&P 500 futures were higher immediately following the release of labor data from the US government for the month of February. The headline non-farm payrolls number was hotter than expected, but the unemployment, average hourly earnings and labor force participation data all suggested that the labor market may be cooling off. This led to lower bond yields.

Concerns over regional banks outweighed the employment data during the regular trading session which saw stocks tumble. Bond yields dropped further on a flight to safety.