Wall Street‘s late-summer downturn was extended Friday as stocks gave up an early rise and closed lower. This was the third consecutive week in which they had suffered losses.

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Following the government’s latest job market data, which indicated companies paused hiring in August, major stock indices initially rose broadly. The news put traders in a buying mood, fanning optimism that the Federal Reserve may not need to hike interest rates as rapidly as it has in the past in order to keep inflation under control.

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However, by mid-afternoon, the market had reversed its path and lost all of its gains. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell 1.1% as a result. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.3%.

The most recent job statistics appeared to offer speculators some reason to believe that a crucial driver of inflation is slowing. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 315,000 jobs last month, down from 526,000 in July and below the average gain of the previous three months. The unemployment rate also rose to 3.7% from 3.5% in July.

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Average hourly pay jumped 5.2% last month from a year earlier, but slowed slightly from July to August. That’s a welcome sign in the inflation fight, as businesses typically pass the cost of higher wages on to their customers through higher prices.

Friday’s afternoon market reversal followed an announcement by Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom that a halt in natural gas supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany may be prolonged. The company cited the need for urgent maintenance work on the pipeline. On Wednesday, Gazprom completely halted the flow of gas through the pipeline and said the stoppage would last for three days.

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Treasury yields, which have been rising along with expectations for higher interest rates, fell broadly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, slipped to 3.20% from 3.26% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to track expectations for Fed action, fell to 3.40% from 3.52%. U.S. stock markets will be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.