July job report comes in below expectation
U.S. stocks on Friday, 01 August 2014 built on the week's losses, leaving the S&P 500 with its biggest weekly drop in two years. Friday's flurry of economic data only briefly lifted the stock market. Instead, Thursday's selloff, sparked in part by signs of rising wages, continued as investors remained fearful that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates sooner than expected.
The Dow dropped 69.93 points, or 0.4%, to finish at 16,493.37 on Friday. The blue-chip gauge recorded a weekly tumble of 2.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 17.13 points, or 0.4%, to close at 4,352.64, leaving it down 2.2% for the week. The S&P 500 fell 5.52 points, or 0.3% to end at 1,925.15, though it finished off its session low. The benchmark endured a weekly loss of 2.7%.
Seven out of ten sectors ended in the red led by energy, financaila nd technology sectors. Healthcare, utilities and consumer staples sectors ended with gains.
Friday's generally positive economic data keeps pressure on the Federal Reserve to reduce its stimulus measures that have helped stock prices.
As per the Labor Department, the U.S. economy added 209,000 jobs in July, marking the sixth straight month of 200,000-plus gains for the first time since 1997, but coming in below the consensus forecast for again of 235,000. The unemployment rate edged up to 6.2% from 6.1%.
The dollar weakened versus major rivals in the wake of the data. Commodities priced in dollars are sensitive to movements in the currency. A stronger dollar can weigh on gold by making it more expensive to users of other currencies, while a weaker dollar can lift the commodity.
Among major stocks under focus, LinkedIn closed up 11.7% after the careers-focused social network posted quarterly results late Thursday that easily topped Wall Street forecasts. Procter & Gamble finished up 3%, performing the best among the 30 Dow stocks. The world's largest consumer products company announced plans to shed brands, along with earnings that beat forecasts.
Bullion prices ended mixed once again on Friday, 01 August 2014 at Comex. Gold futures snapped a three-day losing streak as the U.S. dollar lost ground after data showed the economy added fewer jobs than expected in July.
August gold futures rose $12.30, or 1%, to settle at $1,293.60 an ounce. But the precious metal posted a weekly loss of 0.7%, falling for a third week. September silver fell 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $20.37.
Crude oil futures lost more ground on Friday, 01 August 2014 at Nymex going further below $100. Bearish inventory data and risk-off action as global stocks tumbled sent oil lower.
Crude futures for delivery in September fell 29 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $97.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude is down for four out of past six weeks. A July monthly decline of 6.8% was the biggest fall for any month since May 2012.
Participation was above average for the second day in a row with nearly 780 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.
There is no economic data scheduled to be released on Monday.
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