Posted on Wednesday, 6th July 2011 by Charlotte W
– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply lower opening on Friday, with the euphoria over yesterday’s job reports likely to be lost on a markedly bleak employment report released by the Labor Department. The report is likely to accentuate economic worries and trigger a wave of sell-off in the markets. Job growth was anemic in June, while the unemployment rate has also ticked up.
Stocks have been running up sharply since late June, although the Dow Industrials has held firmly below a resistance around 12,812. The negative jobs report now keeps the index on track to test a long term cushioning support around 12,425.
U.S. stocks advanced yet again on Thursday, encouraged by evidence that the job market is staying afloat after ADP released a report showing stronger than expected private sector job growth and jobless claims declined more than expected in the recent reporting week.
The major averages opened higher and advanced steadily in the morning before seeing some consolidation in the afternoon. The Dow Industrials added 93.47 points or 0.74 percent before closing at 12,720 and the S&P 500 Index ended up 14 points or 1.05 percent at 1,353. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 2,873, up 38.64 points or 1.36 percent.
Twenty-seven of the thirty Dow components ended the session higher, with Cisco Systems (CSCO), Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Boeing (BA) advancing strongly. Meanwhile, Pfizer (PFE) slid 2.65 percent after it announced plans to divest its Animal-health and nutrition businesses.
Among the sector indexes, the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Average rose 1.70 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index gained 1.54 percent, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index moved up 1.05 percent, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index advanced 1.12 percent and the S&P Retail Index surged up 2.36 percent. Additionally, the Dow Jones Transportation Average added about 1 percent, the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer Index gained 1.31 percent and the KBW Bank Index rose 1.66 percent.
In the technology space, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rallied 2.09 percent compared to a near 3 percent advance by the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index, a 1.81 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Software Index and a 2.25 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Currency, Commodity Markets
Crude oil futures are rising $0.43 to $99.10 a barrel after advancing $2.02 to $98.67 a barrel on Thursday. The previous session’s advance came amid the release of the positive jobs numbers and the weekly oil inventory report for the week ended July 1st, which showed that crude oil stockpiles fell by 0.9 million barrels to 358.6 million barrels. Despite the drop, inventories remained above the upper limit of the average range.
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Tags: Job Report, Report
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