Online financial news
Weak Jobs Report May Weigh On Markets – RTTNews Daily Market Analysis
() - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with sentiment likely to be impacted by an employment report that showed a steep decline in payrolls. The private sector added less jobs than had been anticipated, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged. The weak numbers should lead to some selling from the overbought levels the markets are currently in.
U.S. stocks closed on a mixed note yet again on Thursday, with sentiment weighed down by nervousness ahead of Friday’s non-farm payrolls report and the weakening of the dollar. The major averages opened higher, but they surrendered their early gains, with the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 languishing below the unchanged line for much of the session before closing modestly lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index showed more volatility, moving back and forth across the unchanged line before closing higher.
Eighteen of the thirty Dow components closed the session lower, with Alcoa (AA), JP Morgan (JPM), 3M Co. (MMM), AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) declining over 1% each in the session.
Among the sector indexes, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index fell 1.12% and the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index declined 3.02%. Meanwhile, the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index rallied 1.87% and the NYSE Arca Software Index gained 1.94%.
On the economic front, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims fell to 445,000 in the week ended October 2nd from 456,000 in the previous week. The four-week moving average declined to 456,000 from 459,000, while continuing claims fell to a 2-year low of 4.462 million in the week ended September 25th.
The Federal Reserve’s consumer credit report showed that the consumer credit outstanding fell 1.7% year-over-year in August. Revolving credit, tied to credit card loans, fell 7.2%, while non-revolving credit rose 1.2%.
Currency, Commodity Markets
Crude oil futures are trading down $0.83 at $80.84 a barrel after declining $1..56 to $81.67 a barrel on Thursday. Gold futures are edging up $0.20 to $1,335.20 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal fell $12.70 to $1,335 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 82.053 yen compared to the 82.4128 yen it fetched at the close of trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3973 compared to yesterday’s $1.3926.
Asia
Most of the major Asian markets declined on Friday, although the Chinese and Hong Kong markets closed higher. The Chinese Shanghai Composite Index, which opened after a weeklong holiday, surged up over 3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose modestly.
Similar Posts:
- Patchy Retail Sales Report May Apply Brakes On Bargain Hunting – RTTNews Daily Market Analysis
- Markets May Relish Solid Job Gains
- Corporate News May Prove Supportive To Markets – RTTNews Daily Market Analysi
- Geopolitical Worries, Mixed Corporate News May Keep Sentiment Subdued
- Slower Economic Growth May Trigger Anxiety – RTTNews Daily Market Analysis
