The three major U.S. stock indexes in New York opened lower across the board.
On the 15th (U.S. Eastern time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at 48,380.17 and, as of 9:42 a.m., was at 48,280.24, down 139.24 points (0.28%) from the previous session.
At the same time, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 was down 12.91 points (0.19%) to 6,803.60, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 64.69 points (0.28%) to 22,987.39 from the previous session.
Analysts said unease in the U.S. job market has dampened risk appetite. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last month's unemployment rate was 4.6%, the highest since the 2021 pandemic.
U.S. business outlet CNBC said, "The Trump administration's hardline border control policy, which has reduced the inflow of immigrants who had replenished the labor force, is also affecting the labor market."
Retail sales also hit a five-month low. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. retail sales in October totaled $732.6 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Thomas Simons, chief U.S. economist at Jefferies, said, "The message that comes from all this data combined is confusing enough," adding, "It will take time to become clear."
European stocks were also weak. The Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 0.68% from the previous session at 5,713.17 in transaction. Germany's DAX fell 0.59%, and Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.76%.