Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Money / Wall St ends mixed after US jobless rate jumps
BackBack

Wall St ends mixed after US jobless rate jumps

Wall St ends mixed after US jobless rate jumps

Premium

New York: US stocks flip-flopped throughout Friday’s session, with the major indexes ending split as investors paused to consider conflicting signals in monthly US jobs data.

Investors also sold some recent winners to take some profits from the spring rally, which has driven the S&P 500 up almost 40% from its 12-year closing low on 9 March.

Trading was choppy as the stock market initially started higher and then drifted lower as investors reassessed the implications of the latest jobs report.

The Labour Department reported that employers cut 345,000 jobs in May - substantially less than analysts had forecast - but the US unemployment rate hit 9.4%, its highest since 1983.

The data underscored that the US economic picture remained uncertain even after some recent signs of improvement.

“There was a mixed bag from the economic news," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Ohio-based Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

“Initially people saw the 345,000 number and everyone got a little excited, then realized the unemployment rate was worse than expected, and there’s the fact that it’s Friday and the sellers took advantage to take some profits."

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 12.89 points, or 0.15%, to 8,763.13. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 2.37 points, or 0.25%, to 940.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.60 of a point, or 0.03%, to 1,849.42.

Grab that umbrella

Investors opted to book profits from the market’s recent winners - financial, energy, materials and tech shares.

Shares of JPMorgan dropped 2.3% to $34.55 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Citigroup slid 3.1% to $3.46 as it wrapped up its final full week as a Dow component.

On Monday, effective at the start of trading, Citigroup will be replaced in the blue-chip Dow average with Travelers. The large insurance company, known for its red umbrella logo, was once one of the crown jewels in the Citigroup empire before the financial giant was rocked by the credit crisis.

General Motors, once the world’s largest automaker and long a stalwart among the Dow components, also is being kicked out of the Dow industrials following its bankruptcy filing on Monday, 1 June.

So after the weekend, when trading resumes on Monday, GM will be replaced in the Dow by Cisco Systems Inc, which makes the routers that drive the Internet. On Friday, Cisco’s stock jumped 1 percent to close at $19.87 on Nasdaq.

In Friday’s session, investors also unloaded some shares of major oil company Chevron Corp, down 0.6% at $69.37, and Newmont Mining, the world’s No. 2 gold producer, down 5.5% at $44.84, to book some profits from the stocks’ recent run higher in sync with the market’s rally and rising commodity prices.

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, a Dow component, added 0.4% to $51.07 after the world’s biggest retailer unveiled a $15 billion stock-buyback plan.

As a discount retailer, Wal-Mart is one of the companies expected to thrive in a downbeat economy.

Friday’s volume was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, where about 1.26 billion shares changed hands, below last year’s estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.32 billion shares traded, above last year’s daily average of 2.28 billion.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 06 Jun 2009, 10:40 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App