By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Bally Technologies soars on deal with Scientific Games
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market opened slightly
lower as investors digested a jobs report that came in weaker than
expected, but nonetheless indicated the economy is growing at a
moderate pace, and the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise
interest rates sooner than expected.
The U.S. in July gained more than 200,000 jobs for the sixth
straight month, signaling the economy is likely to sustain its
momentum through the summer months. The unemployment rate ticked up
to 6.2%, as more people entered the labor force in search of work,
the government reported.
The main benchmarks were nursing their wounds from Thursday
after the worst selloff in months and were on track to record
weekly losses.
The S&P 500 (SPX) opened 4.7 points, or 0.3%, lower at
1,925.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gave up 46 points,
or 0.3%, to open at 16,513.09. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) began
the day down 4 points, or 0.1%, at 4,364.04.
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action.
Investors also are reacting to comments from two Fed policy
makers.
Richard Fisher, the president of the Dallas Fed and a voting
member on the Fed's rate committee, said during an interview with
CNBC that the central bank is now closer to raising rates after a
two-day policy meeting that ended Wednesday. But Charles Plosser,
the president of the Philadelphia Fed, said interest rates are
"well behind" what is appropriate.
Need to Know for Friday: Don't be a hero and a call for the
S&P 500 to hit 2,500
Other data due Friday include consumer sentiment and
manufacturing activity in July, and monthly auto sales.
Company news
Investors focused on earnings results as well as reacted to
monthly car sales figures.
Procter & Gamble (PG) topped profit estimates, and shares
rose nearly 2%.
Shares of Mobileye (MBLY), which makes camera-based
driver-assistance systems in cars, will make their trading debut on
the New York Stock Exchange. The shares late Thursday priced at $25
a share, above an expected range of $21 to $23 a share. Also read:
Four things to know about Mobileye.
GoPro Inc. (GPRO) posted better-than-expected second-quarter
results late Thursday, but the shares fell 10%, giving back some of
their 30% increase since their June debut.
Deal news sent shares of Bally Technolgoies Inc. (BYI) up 33%.
Shares of Scientific Games Corp. (SGMS) eased 3% after it announced
plans to buy Bally in a deal worth around $5.1 billion.
In Europe, stocks were down, but generally well off their lows
after the jobs data. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Average lost 0.6%.
Crude-oil futures (CLU4) lost ground, and gold futures (GCU4)
advanced 0.9%. The ICE U.S. Dollar index (DXY) was at 81.354, down
from 81.446 on Thursday.
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