US stock markets were declining for fear of the Federal Reserve being encouraged to keep raising interest rates by the most recent job report.

At 9:55 ET, the NASDAQ Composite was down 1.2%, the S&P 500 was down 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 71 points, or 0.2%.

When the March jobs report revealed a continuing labour shortage, US stock markets were closed on Friday. In March, the economy created 236,000 more jobs than forecast (239,000). The report comes after other economic news on the labour market that indicated a downturn in labour conditions.

Despite some signs that the economy is faltering, about 70% of futures traders believe the Fed will raise rates by another quarter-point when it meets in May.

During the past month, the banking industry’s turbulence is predicted to reduce credit availability, slowing the economy further. Later this week, big banks disclose their financial results, which could be a leading indicator for the month’s earnings season.

Analysts are generally decreasing their projections for the quarter. It is anticipated that the S&P 500 businesses will post a first-quarter earnings decline of 5.2%. In contrast, 1.4% growth was predicted to occur at the beginning of the year. Earnings are predicted to decline by 4% in the second quarter.

Inflation among consumers and producers is covered in this week’s economic reports and the minutes of the Fed’s most recent meeting.

Shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped 4% after the producer of electric vehicles announced that it would lower costs once more in the United States. This news follows the company’s announcement to build a battery factory in Shanghai.

After reports oil giant ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) was considering an acquisition, shares of shale oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) increased by 8.1%.

Oil was dipped. Brent Oil Futures decreased by 0.1% to $84.95 per barrel, while Crude Oil WTI Futures fell by 0.1% to $80.67 per barrel. At $2003, gold futures were down 1.1%.