The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell sharply in early morning trading Friday. The Nasdaq added 0.5 percent.
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“The market is in a relief rally after five days of selloff and as investors rebalance their portfolios”, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. “We’ve got the employment number tomorrow”. September’s reading also came below the consensus estimate of 50.6. “No one is entirely sure when the Fed will raise rates and how the US and global economies and markets will react”.
There was a few encouraging news out of China where an official measure of manufacturing rose in September, up from its lowest level in three years. Traders are pricing in about a 45 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates this year, and 52 percent odds on a January increase.
The dollar edged higher against the euro and the yen on Friday, as markets awaited the release of a highly-anticipated U.S.jobs report later in the day. On Wednesday, US payroll processor ADP reported that USA employers added 200,000 jobs this month, up from 180,000 in the previous month.
This is the last payrolls data before the Fed meets later this month. The Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index has closed above 20 for the past 29 sessions, the longest streak since January 2012. Apple is up only 1.8 percent this year.
Prices for USA government bonds edged up, nudging the yield down to 2.04 percent from 2.05 percent late Wednesday.
“Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term”, the Fed said in an apparent indication to the recent stock market crisis in China, adding that it was “monitoring developments overseas “.
Huntsman shares plunged 23 percent after the chemical maker warned it expects third quarter to be hurt by soft demand in Asia Pacific and lower titanium dioxide selling prices. Winners and losers were evenly split among the S&P 500’s 10 main industries.
Data due Monday includes consumer spending data for August, which is expected to have risen 0.4 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent increase in July. “Without it, it looks suspect”.
The S&P 500 gained 1.43 percent to 1,951.36.
For the week, the Dow and S&P both rose 1 percent.
Chevron rose 3.08 percent and ConocoPhillips jumped 4.94 percent.
During the regular session, Yahoo shares rose 2.39 percent, a day after the Internet company’s board chose to proceed with spinning off Alibaba stake.
Semiconductors, one of the leaders yesterday, reversed course to pace declines today among technology companies.
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WALL STREET: Major US indexes ended little changed after a day of aimless trading. With last week’s tumble, IBB now resides nearly 11 percent below its 200-day moving average. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) jumped 4.8%. Joy Global is the second-worst performer in the benchmark this year, down 69 percent.
