Wall Street wobbles into weekend
Stocks slump at the end of a volatile week after weak auto sales reports, GM's huge loss and a 7th straight monthly decline in jobs.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped Friday, completing a topsy-turvy week, as investors mulled a seventh straight month of job losses, a dismal quarterly report from General Motors and slumping U.S. auto sales reports.
The three major indexes were off their lows for the day, but markets still ended the week with losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down by almost 0.5%, and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index was down 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (COMP) index slid 0.6%.
Fresh concerns over the labor market weighed on investor sentiment throughout the day. A better-than-expected jobs report was offset by a rise in the monthly unemployment rate "and that plays into the hand of weaker labor data in the months ahead," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.
The Dow only ended down 50 points Friday, but stocks have made big moves, both to the upside and downside, every other day this week. On Monday, the Dow sank 240 points; on Tuesday, it gained 266 points; on Wednesday, the blue-chip index rose by 186 points; and on Thursday, it lost 206 points.
"Increased volatility is a sign of a market that is still in a downtrend but potentially getting closer to a bottom," said Ed Clissold, senior global analyst for Ned Davis Research. "But we still haven't gotten to that level yet."
That churning also signals heightened investor nervousness about the broader economy and corporate strength.
"The volatility comes with the fact that there are uncertainties and investors are looking at anything or everything that might take the market higher," said Cardillo.
For all of the market gyrations, however, all three indexes finished the week almost exactly where they started the week. The Dow lost 0.4%, the Standard & Poor's finished only 0.2% higher, and the Nasdaq ended less than a point higher from where it started the week.
Market breadth was just about even. On the New York Stock exchange, advancers were even with decliners on a volume of 1.2 billion shares. On the Nasdaq as well, decliners were even with advancers on a market volume of 2.15 billion shares.
Employment report. The Labor Department reported a less-than-expected net loss of 51,000 jobs in July. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had been forecasting a loss of 75,000 jobs. Nevertheless, it was the seventh straight month of job losses, bringing year-to-date total to 463,000.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.7% from 5.5% reading in June, which was worse than the 5.6% rate economists were looking for. (Full story.)
"The main focus is the employment report that came out today which showed that unemployment moved higher to 5.7%," said Clissold.
Automotive sector. General Motors reported a massive second-quarter net loss of $15.5 billion, due in large part to restructuring costs. Revenue fell to $37.7 billion from $45.8 billion a year earlier, and far below analysts expectations of revenue of $44.6 billion. General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) shares fell almost 8%. (Full story.)
The news from General Motors is "definitely indicative of the problems that consumer companies are facing right now," said Clissold.
GM also announced that its auto sales sank 26% in July, which was a much sharper decline than the 16% drop that auto industry Web site Edmunds.com. had forecast. The drop in auto sales was led by a 35% decline in SUVs and pickup trucks.
Also Friday, Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) said July vehicle sales fell 14.9%, which was almost twice as much of a drop as was predicted Edmunds.com. The company's stock fell 3%. (Full story.)
Toyota (TM) reported a 12% plunge in auto sales, the 10th straight month in which sales have declined. SUV sales dropped 24% and pickup sales fell by 32%. The company's stock was down more than 1%. (Full story.)
Stocks were already lower when the auto sales numbers came out. But the dour reports didn't add to losses because "a lot of this news coming out of the auto sector, the market has already discounted," said Cardillo.
Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, reported a 42.8% drop in second-quarter profit amid continued softening demand in the United States. Nissan (NSANY)'s revenue slipped 4.1% and the carmaker said that the stronger yen cut into its exporting sales. Nissan's stock was down by almost 6%. (Full story.)
Energy. Crude prices settled $1.02 higher to $125.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after being up as much as $4 on renewed concerns about Iran's nuclear program. (Full story.)
Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) announced Friday that its second-quarter profit jumped by 11% on soaring crude prices. The second-largest U.S. oil company reported earnings per share of $2.90, which was less than the $3.03 per share expected by analysts. The company's shares were down less than 1%. (Full story.)
Retail gas prices fell for the 15th straight day on Friday, according to a nationwide survey from motorist advocacy group AAA. Regular unleaded gas fell 1.1 cents to a nationwide average price of $3.898 a gallon. (Full story.)
Construction spending. In yet another sign of the slumping mortgage industry, the Commerce Department reported on Friday that construction spending fell by 0.4% in June. Nonresidential spending jumped up, but sluggish residential sales dragged on the reading. (Full story.)
Other markets. In currency trading, the dollar rose to nearly a six-week high against the euro on a slightly better-than-expected jobs report, but the greenback lost ground against the Japanese yen.
COMEX gold for December delivery fell $5.20 to $917.50 an ounce.
In the bond market, Treasury prices were higher. The 10-year note was up slightly, sending the yield down to 3.93%. 
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