Stocks edge lower as big week looms for Wall Street
Stock markets have done pretty well this summer, boosted largely by speculation that central banks will pump more money into world economies.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.6% from July 1 to Aug. 31. With Wall Streeters coming back from summer vacations after a long Labor Day weekend, investors will be confronted with market-moving news this week.
The Dow was down 26 points, or 0.2%, to 13,065 in early trading Tuesday. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 was down 1 point, or 0.1%, to 1,405. The Nasdaq was down 3 points, or 0.1%, to 3,064.
Manufacturing and construction-spending reports were due out later Tuesday morning.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank will meet and potentially announce a bond-purchasing program for heavily indebted countries such as Greece, Spain and Italy. ECB president Mario Draghi dropped hints about the program, according to news reports.
On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department will report August’s unemployment figures. The number of jobs added to payrolls will show how well the labor market is or isn’t recovering. Employers added 163,000 jobs in July.
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