US markets close lower for third consecutive day

Increased job creation leads to expectations of interest rate hike.

Video board at the NYSE — The video board after the Dow Jones closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange Getty

The US markets have had a slow week so far, with the Dow industrials and S&P 500 seeing a third consecutive day of closing lower for the first time in more than a month.

Oil prices were down and an interest rate hike is expected in the coming week, prompting the lower numbers.

The S&P 500 index closed 5.41 points down at 2,362.98, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 69.03 points down to close at 2,362.98, and the Nasdaq closed at 5,837.55 – managing to avoid a loss, with just a 3.62 point rise.

The private sector has reportedly added 298,000 jobs over the last month, which has led weight to expectations of an interest-rate hike.

The chief marketing strategist at Wunderlich Securities, Art Hogan, told Market Watch: "We're starting this week off pretty slowly and sideways, and I think that the jobs number will end up deciding the direction of this market."