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Stocks Fluctuating As Traders Digest Mixed Jobs Data - US Commentary(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - After coming under pressure in early trading on Friday, stocks have fluctuated over the course of the trading day. The choppy trading extends the relatively lackluster performance that has been shown throughout much of the past week. Currently, the major averages are turning in a mixed performance. While the S&P 500 is up 0.15 points or less than 0.1% at 2,031.36, the Dow is down 9.41 points or 0.1% at 17,545.06 and the Nasdaq is down 13.36 points or 0.3% at 4,625.11. A mixed reaction to the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report is contributing to the choppy trading on Wall Street. While the report showed weaker than expected job growth in the month of October, the unemployment rate still fell to a new six-year low. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment rose by 214,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 235,000 jobs. Nonetheless, the job growth helped push the unemployment rate down to 5.8% in October from 5.9% in September. With the drop, the unemployment rate hit its lowest level since July of 2008. The data points to continued strength in the economy but has also raised some concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, said, "The unemployment rate of 5.8% is not too far from the Fed's year end 2015 target range of 5.4-5.6% thus putting the Fed even further behind the ball. Expect a March rate hike." Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets may also be contributing to the lackluster performance after yesterday's gains lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 to record closing highs. Among individual stocks, shares of Salix Pharmaceuticals (SLXP) have moved sharply lower on the day after the developer of drugs and medical devices reported weaker than expected third quarter results and provided disappointing guidance. Healthcare information technology company Allscripts Healthcare (MDRX) is also under pressure after reporting third quarter results that came in below analyst estimates. Meanwhile, shares of Sears Holding (SHLD) have spiked higher after the retailer said it is considering the sale of up to 300 stores to boost liquidity. Sector News Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, gold stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has surged up by 6.3%, climbing further off Wednesday's eleven-year closing low. The continued recovery by gold stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery jumping USD22.30 to USD1,164.90 an ounce. Energy stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, moving higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for December delivery is climbing USD1.06 to USD78.97 a barrel, continuing to recover from the three-year closing low set on Tuesday. On the other hand, biotechnology stocks have come under pressure on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.7%. The index is pulling back further off Monday's record closing high. Pharmacyclics (PCYC), Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) and Vertex (VRTX) are turning in some of the biotech sector's worst performances. Semiconductor, brokerage, and healthcare stocks have also moved to the downside, giving back some ground following recent gains. Other Markets In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in yet another mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4%. The major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the UK's FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.3%, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both dropped by 0.9%. In the bond market, treasuries are regaining ground after trending lower over the past few weeks. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.3 basis points at 2.312%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |