Wall Street mixed as investors weight on the employment report
InvestingOnline.com
3/08/2018, 15:17The US stocks market opened Friday with gains as investors digested weaker than expected nonfarm payrolls, but two months of growth and the drop in the unemployment rate indicate that the labor market is healthy.
New proposed Chinese tariffs on US goods are hurting the market sentiment and investors are trading on profit-taking ahead of the weekend. China said it would add duties on $60 billion in US in agricultural-related, metal and chemical goods, with charges ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent.
The United States reported 157K new nonfarm payrolls created on July, well below of market expectations of 190K, and June reading of 248K new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that “employment increased in
professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in health care and social assistance.”
The unemployment rate declined to 3.9% in July from 4.0%, close to its lowest level in nearly 50 years. “The number of unemployed persons declined by 284,000 to 6.3 million in July.”
Labor force participation stayed unchanged at 62.9% between June and July. Expectations were for an increase in the participation rate to 63.0%. Weekly average hours stayed at 34.5, as expected, but below 34.5 performed in June.
Average hourly earnings rose 2.7% YoY in July, as expected and the same growth rate of June.
Stocks positive on the open, now mixed
DJIA daily chart August 3
Stocks are up today as the DJIA gains 0.23% or 57.68 points, to its current level at 25,383.84. In the last five trading days, the DJIA has lost 0.27%.
The S&P 500 is trading 0.15% or 4.37 points up on the day. During the last five trading days, the S&P 500 has gained 0.45% and is currently trading at 2,832.
The NASDAQ is off its highs of the day and is mainly unchanged, though it is posting a 0.15%, or 10.45 points, decline to its current level of 7,791. In the last five trading days, the NASDAQ has gained 0.69%.
