Job Data keeps US Market on track
US Market started the day with good gains today, Thursday, 03 July,
2008. But at the end, it ended the short day ahead of tomorrow?s
Independence Day in a mixed mode with Nasdaq faltering into the red.
Weakness in the semiconductor industry weighed on the index. Couple of
economic reports dominated the day.
After being up by almost
100 points earlier during the day, The Dow Jones industrial Average
ended the day with a gain of 73 points at 11,288. The Nasdaq Composite
Index, finished lower by 6 points at 2,245. S&P 500 finished higher
by 1.37 points at 1,262.89.
Tenty two out of thirty Dow
components ended in the green today. While United Technologies was one
of the top Dow winner, AIG was one of the main laggrd.
Among
the major economic releases for the day, the unemployment rate for June
came in at 5.5%, exceeding the 5.4% rate that was expected. Nonfarm
payrolls fell by 62,000 during the month, unchanged from the prior
month.
Jobless claims for the week ending 28 June totaled
404,000, reflecting a loosening labor market. The week?s claims topped
the 385,000 claims that was expected and were up from the prior week.
Also, the Institute Of Supply Management (ISM) Service Index for June
came in below expectations, totaling 48.2. The reading was down from
the 51.7 posted in May.
Production concerns pushed crude prices
to unchartered territory today. EIA reported yesterday that crude
supplies fell last week. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for
August delivery today closed at $145.29/barrel (higher by $1.75/barrel
or 1.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose to a high of
$146.3 during intraday trading. For the week, prices gained $5.08
(3.6%).
The European Central Bank increased its benchmark
lending rate 25 basis points to 4.25% earlier today, but comments by
the ECB?s president led participants to believe another rate hike is
unlikely for the time being.
At the US currency markets on
Thursday, there was a surge in the U.S. dollar following the jobs data.
The dollar index which tracks the performance of the greenback against
other major currencies, was last at 72.757 compared with yesterday?s
72.034.
Trading volume was light, with nearly 932 million
shares exchanged on the New York Stock Exchange, where declining stocks
passed those advancing roughly 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 607 million
shares traded, and decliners beat advancers 8 to 5.
US Market will be closed tomorrow in observance of Independence Day.
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