Wall St. barely gains after mixed U.S. jobs data
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[September 07, 2019] By
Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow
industrials closed slightly higher on Friday as investors digested a
mixed U.S. jobs report and bet on a Federal Reserve interest rate cut
this month, while China's stimulus plan helped ease some concerns around
global growth.
U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in August, with retail hiring
declining for a seventh straight month, but this was countered by strong
wage gains which are expected to support consumer spending and keep the
economy expanding moderately amid rising threats from trade tensions.
Also on Friday, speaking at the University of Zurich, Fed Chair Jerome
Powell said the labor market was strong and the central bank will
continue to "act as appropriate" to sustain economic expansion. He also
said the United States and the world economy are not likely to fall into
recession.
"The report showed steadiness in the job market, albeit not a lot of
growth. The jobs report gave enough weakness for the Fed to cut 25 basis
points this month but not enough that the Fed would start flashing a
recession warning," said Joseph Sroka, chief investment officer at
NovaPoint in Atlanta.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/07/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png)
"Until we get into October and there's solid company data again, the
market's going to be gyrating based on economic and geopolitical
headlines."
Earlier, China's central bank said it would slash the amount of cash
that banks must hold as reserves, releasing a total of 900 billion yuan
($126.35 billion) in liquidity to shore up the flagging economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 69.45 points, or 0.26%, at
26,797.6, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 2.72 points, or 0.09%, to 2,978.72
and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 13.75 points, or 0.17%, at
8,103.07.
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![](../images/090719PIX/busine51.jpg)
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in
New York, U.S., September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/07/images/ads/current/cca_lda_BACKTOSCHOOL_2019.png)
For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.8%, while the Dow added 1.5% and the Nasdaq
gained 1.8%.
Of the S&P 500's 11 major sectors, eight ended the day with gains. Healthcare <.SPXHC>
was the biggest boost with a 0.3% increase, while the technology sector was the
biggest drag with a 0.2% drop.
The communication services sector <.SPLRCL> was also under pressure as Facebook
Inc <FB.O> slipped 1.8% after U.S. state attorneys general said they would
investigate if the social media giant stifled competition and put users at risk.
The Labor Department's nonfarm payroll data showed the economy added 130,000
jobs in August, below expectations for a gain of 158,000, according to a Reuters
survey of economists. While average hourly earnings gained 0.4% last month in
the largest increase since February, the annual increase dipped to 3.2% from
3.3% in July.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.46-to-1 ratio; on
Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 53 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite
recorded 57 new highs and 51 new lows.
On U.S. exchanges 6.27 billion shares changed hands compared with the 6.75
billion average for the last 20 sessions.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Culp in New York and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru;
Editing by Tom Brown and Rosalba O'Brien)
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