Stocks End Mixed; Jobs Data Loom
Major stock indexes got a late-afternoon boost on Thursday, but the broad market still closed lower ahead of today’s November employment report.
In other trading, natural gas prices continued to soar on supply concerns and the dollar strengthened a bit.
On Wall Street, stocks rose in the morning, sold off at midday, then rallied in the final two hours, although the action was confined to a fairly narrow range.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 57.40 points, or 0.6%, to 9,930.82 -- the highest close since May 28, 2002.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 added 4.99 points, or 0.5%, to 1,069.72, just below the 52-week high of 1,070.12 reached Monday.
The Nasdaq composite index closed up 8.55 points, or 0.4%, at 1,968.80.
But falling stocks narrowly outnumbered winners on the New York Stock Exchange and on Nasdaq.
Many investors were awaiting today’s government report on November employment trends, to see if the data would confirm that corporate hiring has kicked into higher gear. That would be a sign that the economic recovery is gaining momentum.
“There’s a lot of drama building up here” ahead of the jobs data, said Larry Wachtel, market analyst at Wachovia Securities.
Some reports on Thursday dampened enthusiasm about the economy. Several retailers reported disappointing November sales, sending their stocks down sharply.
Also, the government said new claims for jobless benefits ticked up modestly last week.
After regular trading ended, semiconductor giant Intel updated its fourth-quarter sales forecast and was less upbeat than some investors had hoped. Intel rose 20 cents to $33.54 in regular trading, then fell to $32.47 in after-hours activity.
But earlier in the day, wireless technology firm Qualcomm gave an optimistic forecast for the current quarter. Its stock jumped $4.63 to $49.10.
Many analysts say the economy has built up a head of steam, which they say should continue to produce higher corporate earnings overall.
“The right things are happening with the economy,” Richard Sichel, chief investment officer of Philadelphia Trust Co., told Bloomberg News. “That translates into better earnings, and better earnings mean the market can go up.”
In the bond market, Treasury yields slipped a bit ahead of the employment report. The 10-year T-note eased to 4.37% from 4.40%.
The dollar gained some ground. The euro, which hit a record high of $1.21 on Wednesday, dipped to $1.209.
In commodities trading, natural gas futures zoomed after the Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected drain on supplies needed to prevent shortages this winter.
U.S. utilities took 59 billion cubic feet of gas from storage last week, reducing inventories to mid-October levels, the department said.
Near-term gas futures in New York rocketed 58.1 cents, or 10%, to $6.337 per million British thermal units, the highest price since early June.
Among Thursday’s highlights:
* Retail stocks falling on November sales reports included Abercrombie & Fitch, down $2.61 to $24.67; Gadzooks, off $1.29 to $3.12; Bon-Ton Stores, down $1.18 to $11.40; Sears, down $2.27 to $52.59; and Men’s Wearhouse, off $3.28 to $26.26.
* JetBlue Airways slid $1.37 to $31.38 after the company reduced its fourth-quarter profit-margin forecast, citing lower fares and interruptions because of the California wildfires.
Among other airlines, Continental dropped $1.23 to $16.05, Southwest slid $1.22 to $16.60 and America West was down 76 cents to $13.79.
* Cisco Systems rallied 68 cents to $23.98, the highest closing price since 2001, after a Merrill Lynch analyst raised his rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral,” saying the earnings outlook was improving.
* TiVo slumped 99 cents to $6.93 after analysts said cable firm Comcast would not offer its subscribers TiVo brand recorders.
* Energy stocks were mostly higher as natural gas prices rose. ChevronTexaco gained $1.52 to $77.62, Unocal was up $1.31 to $33.74 and Apache jumped $2.47 to a record $76.30.
* Some other commodity-related companies continued to gain. Alcoa rose 98 cents to $35.45, Dow Chemical added 27 cents to $39.30 and Vulcan Materials was up 26 cents to $46.10. All were at 52-week highs.
