learn Chinese – U.S. markets sink ahead of job data
Cautious trading dominated the U. S. markets on Monday as investors await the non-farm employment data due out later this week.
The U.S. stocks erased all the gains from the previous session amid extremely light trading. Risk aversion pressured on commodities, but drove up safer choices like bond and the dollar.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 140.92 points, or 1.39 percent, to 10,009.73. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 15.67 points, or 1.47 percent, to 1,048.92 and the Nasdaq tumbled 33.66 points, or 1.56 percent, to 2,119.97.
The CBOE Volatility Index jumped more than 11 percent to close at 27.21, above its 200-day moving average of 23.40, and its 100- day moving average of 26.23.
Hewlett-Packard, the only Dow stock to close in the red on Friday’s rally, was the lone member of the index to finish up on Monday. The company’s board announced a 3-billion-U.S.-dollar share repurchase this afternoon.
All S&P large-cap sectors were lower, led by financials, consumer discretionary and industrials.
Economic data released on Monday were mixed, and largely ignored by the market. The Commerce Department reported on Monday that personal spending rose 0.4 percent in July, the biggest jump in four months. Although the reading was higher than analysts’ expectation, it failed to boost the market as investors were cautious ahead of the key monthly employment data due out on Friday.
Meanwhile, personal income rose 0.2 percent last month, below the 0.3-percent growth rate economists had expected.
Monday’s move came after a strong rally on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would take actions if the economy deteriorates significantly.
Investors have been betting in recent weeks that the weaker economic reports will translate into smaller earnings than previously thought. That, in turn, has helped drive stocks lower to match the diminished expectations.
Crude futures snapped a three-day winning streak and retreated on Monday. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 47 cents to settle at 74.70 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery edged 5 cents lower to settle at 76.60 dollars a barrel in London trading.
The dollar rose against the euro and the sterling pound as the greenback usually benefits from a downward stock market.
The Japanese yen continued to strengthen as the market took the Bank of Japan’s latest quantitative easing measures as inadequate. The Japanese central bank announced after an emergency meeting on Monday that it will raise the supply of fixed-rate loans to banks to 30 trillion yen (about 354 billion dollars) from 20 trillion yen.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.2671 dollars from 1.2731 late Friday, and the British pound retreated to 1.5468 dollars from 1.5511.
In other trading, the dollar fell to 84.68 Japanese yen from 85. 37, fell to 1.0262 Swiss francs from 1.0294, and rose to 1.0586 Canadian dollars from 1.0525 late Friday.
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