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US Stock Futures Turn Positive Following Jobs Data; DJIA Up 5
Related stories
U.S. futures fall ahead of payrolls data (7:33a)
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Fed's Bullard says next meeting 'tough call': CNBC (7:20a)
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AlertEmailPrintShare By Jonathan Cheng
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures edged up into positive territory Friday morning after the U.S. economy suffered deep job losses last month, a grim picture that nonetheless buoyed investors gearing up for action by the Federal Reserve.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures edged up five points to 10916 recently, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures added one point to 1158 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained four points to 2018. Prior to the jobs data, Dow futures had been off 36 points, while S&P 500 futures slipped four points and Nasdaq futures shed seven points. Changes in stock futures do not always accurately predict early stock moves after the open.
The closely-watched September nonfarm payrolls report showed small gains in private sector hiring, which failed to offset big cuts in government workers. The private sector added only 64,000 jobs in September, with overall nonfarm payrolls falling by 95,000 as temporary census workers were let go and state and local governments also cut employment.
Economists had expected nonfarm payrolls to fall by a smaller 10,000, while private-sector jobs gained by 85,000.
The U.S. labor market remains in the doldrums 15 months after the recession ended. That could hurt Democrats in mid-term elections Nov. 2 and is likely to lead the Fed to take new steps to jump-start the economy at its next meeting in early November. The September data was the last jobs report before these two key events.
The unemployment rate, which is calculated with a separate household survey, remained unchanged at a lofty 9.6% in September, though it was lower than the expected increase to 9.7%.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard told CNBC early Friday ahead of the jobs data that the Fed would face a difficult decision on whether to begin another round of asset purchases.
"The economy has slowed, but it hasn't slowed so much," Mr. Bullard said, adding that he would go into the meeting "with an open mind."
Treasurys surged after the jobs number, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note sinking to 2.371%. Gold rose to above $1,340 an ounce, while oil edged down.
Friday also marked the unofficial start to earnings season, with Alcoa gaining 2.7% in premarket trading after it lifted its forecast for demand in reporting third-quarter earnings late Thursday.
Alcoa, one of the 30 Dow industrials, reported a roughly 21% drop in third-quarter profit, but still beat market expectations, and also lifted its forecast for global aluminum demand in 2010.
Also in focus, Micron Technology slipped 0.7% in premarket trading after the chip maker missed consensus earnings expectations late Thursday.
The moves came after U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow down 0.2%. In overnight activity, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 0.7% in intraday trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 average closed down 1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index soared 3.1% as trading resumed after a week-long holiday.
In currencies, the dollar slipped after the jobs number, falling against the euro and the yen after trading in positive territory. The dollar moves come ahead of weekend meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington. |
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发表于 2010-10-8 06:52 AM
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发表于 2010-10-8 06:57 AM
