By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Private sector adds 189,000 jobs in March
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- April Fools' Day, indeed. U.S. stocks
kicked off the month, and the start of the second quarter, on a
sour note, with the main benchmarks ending Wednesday's session with
modest losses as a batch of weaker-than-expected economic reports
further eroded confidence.
Futures were already pointing to weakness earlier in the session
as Asian markets tumbled, U.S. stocks turned lower after
private-sector job gains came in weaker than expected. A
larger-than-forecast drop in ISM manufacturing index also suggested
the U.S. economy is weakening.
Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James,
noted that the stock market hasn't felt confident about the economy
since November.
"At the moments there are too many indicators that seem to point
to being patient and wait until fundamentals improve. There is
internal deterioration, softening economy and falling earnings
expectations. It is difficult to be patient, but that's exactly
what investors should be," Saut said.
Patience was certainly not on display as the S&P 500 (SPX)
closed 8.20 points, or 0.4%, lower at 2,059.69. The benchmark index
closed below a key technical level, with some analysts suggesting
the index is vulnerable to further declines.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped as much as 190
points in early trade, but recovered some of the losses to end the
session 77.94 points, or 0.4%, lower at 17,698.18. More than
two-thirds of the 30 components on the average closed lower
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) ended the session down 20.66 points,
or 0.4%, to 4,880.23.
Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at
the Schwab Center for Financial Research, noted that the market has
been extremely difficult to predict.
"Looking at our open put/call ratios and Vix, those indicators
are neither bullish, nor bearish, as they are not at extreme
levels," Frederick said, adding that long investors may need to
tune out the short-term noise of stock fluctuations.
Data: Private-sector employment gains continued in March but at
a slower pace than in the prior month
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/private-sector-adds-189000-jobs-in-march-adp-2015-04-01-8912056).
Employers added 189,000 jobs last month, Automatic Data Processing
Inc. reported Wednesday.
Separately, U.S. manufacturers grew at the slowest pace in March
in almost two years and employment levels also weakened, according
to the The Institute for Supply Management's survey
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-index-falls-in-march-to-lowest-rate-since-may-2013-2015-04-01).
Outlays for U.S. construction projects decreased 0.1%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/february-construction-spending-inches-down-01-2015-04-01)
in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $967.2
billion.
Stocks to watch: Shares of GoDaddy Inc. (GDDY) jumped 31% in its
IPO debut.
Shares of major airline companies took a hit after downgrades by
Deutsche Bank.Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American Airlines Group
(AAL) fell 3.8% and 4.4% respectively.
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (SRPT) shares rallied 7.6% after the
biotech firm appointed Edward Kaye as interim CEO with immediate
effect and said it is pushing ahead with regulatory and clinical
work needed to gain approval for its lead product candidate.
For more on notable movers, read Movers & Shakers column
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/monsanto-progress-software-acuity-brands-earnings-in-focus-2015-04-01).
Other markets:U.S. Treasuries
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-sink-as-adp-and-pmi-disappoint-2015-04-01)
rallied today, sending the yield on the 10-year note down seven
basis points to 1.87%, following weak ADP and ISM data.
Oil (CLK5) settled with biggest gain in two months
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), gaining $2.49
or 5.2% to $50.09 a barrel. Gold (GCM5) bounced back after two days
of losses to settle 2.1% higher at $1,208.20.
European stocks finished with modest gains, with the benchmark
STOXX gaining 0.3%.
Asian stock markets closed mixed, with China's benchmark
Shanghai Composite Index ending above 3,800 for the first time
since 2008 (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).
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