By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock investors continued their
selling ways this week, pushing prices lower in early trading.
Wednesday's slide stemmed from upbeat employment and manufacturing
data for September, which although points to positive momentum for
the U.S. economy, continued to fuel worries that the Federal
Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than later.
Private employers added 213,000 new jobs in September and many
view the report as a proxy for the non-farm payrolls data due on
Friday. Manufacturing in the U.S. is still expanding, albeit
slightly slower. Both PMI and ISM indexes ticked down, however
indicated growth.
The upbeat economic data should be a positive, but ironically,
has markets fretting that they may need to retool their
holdings.
The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 17 points, or 0.9%, to 1,955.21, with
industrials and materials leading the losses. Nine of 10 main
sectors are trading lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
dropped 157 points, or 0.9%, to 16,885.42. The Nasdaq Composite
(RIXF) shed 50 points, or 1.1%, to 4,442.43.
Wall Street stocks on Tuesday limped through the last day of
trading for the month and third quarter after a mixed bag of
economic data. The S&P 500 lost 1.6% last month, but eked out a
0.6% gain over the third quarter.
A rising dollar (USDJPY) could propel U.S. stocks to fresh
gains, a report in The Wall Street Journal forecast. Investors will
be looking for companies that could benefit from a stronger dollar,
such as consumer-focused companies like airlines or retailers,
Scott Migliori, chief investment officer for U.S. stocks at Allianz
Global Investors, told the WSJ.
The dollar (USDJPY) tapped the 110-yen level for the first time
since 2008 in Asia, after weak retail sales in Australia pushed
that country's currency lower against the dollar, causing a ripple
effect and the dollar/yen jump.
Eyes on ADP, manufacturing: Private-sector hiring picked up
slightly in September, marking the sixth consecutive month of
above-200,000 job gains, according to data released Wednesday.
Economists will use this data as a guide leading up to Friday's
nonfarm-payrolls report, where expectations are for a gain of
220,000 jobs.
U.S. manufacturing companies grew at slower but still rapid pace
in September, a survey of executives found. The final Markit
reading of U.S. manufacturing conditions in September fell
slightly, but still, the index is just a hair below the highest
level in more than four years. Separately, outlays for U.S.
construction projects unexpectedly fell in August, the U.S.
Commerce Department reported.
Autos and biotechs: Monthly sales reports from auto makers are
trickling in. Expectations are for sales to slow to an annual 16.5
million last month, from 17.5 million in August. Ford Motor Co. (F)
September sales dropped 3% and shares fell 1%. General Motors
(GM.XX) sales rose 19.4%, but shares were flat.
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. (TKMR) surged 18% after the Center
for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first known Ebola
case diagnosed in the U.S.
Other companies working on treatments for the deadly virus also
were active in early trading: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) rose
2.7%, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (SRPT) rose 3.4%. Also read: U.S.
Ebola case boosts drug makers working on treatments
Other markets: Oil prices(CLX4) staged a moderate recovery,
after a selloff on Tuesday that pushed prices to their lowest in
more than a year. Gold prices(GCZ4) rose $5 to 1,216.8.
Supermarkets were under pressure on the FTSE 100 after sales
fell at Sainsbury PLC and U.K. regulators announced a probe into
Tesco PLC over its accounting practices. The Stoxx Europe 600 index
was slightly lower.
The Nikkei 225 index eased, while Hong Kong and Chinese markets
were closed for a holiday. Pro-democracy rallies spread further
across Hong Kong on Wednesday, which had some worried about the
demonstration escalating.
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