Better-than-expected payrolls data failed to save benchmarks
from ending in the red on Friday as investors remained
apprehensive ahead of the U.S. presidential election. The
blue-chip index fell as much as 139 points as companies started
to estimate the losses incurred by Hurricane Sandy. All 10
industry groups in the S&P 500 ended in the red.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) tumbled 1.1% to close
the day at 13,093.16. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500)
declined by 0.9% to finish Friday's trading session at 1,414.20.
The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.3% to end at
2,982.13. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) surged 5.4%
to settle at 17.59. Consolidated volumes on the New York Stock
Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq were roughly 6.35
billion shares, slightly lower than the daily average of 6.5
billion shares. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers on the
NYSE by a wide margin; as for 67% stocks that declined, 29%
stocks closed higher.
For the week, the Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and
the Nasdaq lost 0.2%. Markets were closed on the first two days
of the week owing to Hurricane Sandy. On the remaining three
days, benchmarks mostly had mixed sessions. Some positive
economic reports were released. Among them, the consumer
confidence index touched its highest level since February 2008,
ISM manufacturing index rose by 0.2 points and construction
spending edged up 0.6%. Meanwhile, the number of Americans filing
for unemployment benefits for the week ending October 27
decreased by 9,000 to 363,000.
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that
non-farm payroll employment increased by 171,000 in the month of
October, beating consensus estimates of 119,000. Increase in
non-farm employment was boosted by professional and business
services, health care and retail. Professional and business
services added 51,000 jobs, whereas healthcare and retail added
31,000 and 36,000 jobs, respectively. Mining lost 9,000 jobs in
October. The unemployment rate was up to 7.9% in October from
7.8% in September, inline with consensus estimates. This was the
last jobs report before the U.S. presidential election on
Tuesday.
Hurricane Sandy has affected many U.S. companies and forced
them to change their outlooks. According to insurance and airline
companies, their profits may fall in the coming quarter due to
Hurricane Sandy. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:
DAL
) said the company lost $45 million in revenue and $20 million in
profit due to Sandy. The company had to cancel more than 3,500
flights. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc.'s (NYSE:
VZ
) shares dropped 1.4% on Friday after the company said its
fourth-quarter earnings may fall significantly in the wake of
Sandy's destruction.
Separately, the U.S. government reported that factory orders
jumped 4.8% to $475.4 billion in September, beating consensus
estimates of a rise of 4.7%. September's gain was the biggest
jump since March 2011 and it came after a 5.1% decline in August.
Shipments were up by 0.9% to $481.3 billion, while unfilled
orders increased 0.2% to $981.0 billion. Orders for inventories
have risen for three consecutive months, increasing by $3.7
billion or 0.6% to $615.7 billion in September. Inventories hit
its highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS
basis in 1992.
Coming to the sectors, materials had a bad run and the
Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) lost 1.8%. Stocks such as E I
Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:
DD
), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:
DOW
) FMC Corporation (NYSE:
FMC
), PPG Industries, Inc. (NYSE:
PPG
) and Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:
EMN
) lost 1.9%, 1.2%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.2%, respectively.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) started selling the iPad mini in stores, but the company's
shares fell 3.3%. The Technology SPDR (XLK) fell 1.3%. Stocks
such as Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:
HPQ
), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:
DELL
), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:
MSFT
) and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:
SNDK
) lost 1.7%, 1.9%, 0.1% and 1.6%, respectively.
APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
DELTA AIR LINES (DAL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
DU PONT (EI) DE (DD): Free Stock Analysis
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(DELL.MSFT): ETF Research Reports
DOW CHEMICAL (DOW): Free Stock Analysis
Report
EASTMAN CHEM CO (EMN): Free Stock Analysis
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FMC CORP (FMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
HEWLETT PACKARD (HPQ): Free Stock Analysis
Report
PPG INDS INC (PPG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
SANDISK CORP (SNDK): Free Stock Analysis
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VERIZON COMM (VZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
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