Stocks fizzle ahead of Fed Major gauges tick lower as concerns about slowing growth battle enthusiasm for a possible Fed pause. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The stock market was the rally that wasn't Friday after concerns about slowing growth offset investor's initial enthusiasm about a possible pause in the Federal Reserve's two-year campaign of raising interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average (down 2.24 to 11,240.35, Charts) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (down 0.91 to 1,279.36, Charts) index both inched lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 7.29 to 2,085.05, Charts) lost nearly 0.4 percent. All three gauges had posted big gains after the government reported sluggish job growth last month - the Dow was up about 100 points in early trading - but the market turned lower midway through the day. Treasury bonds soared, and oil, gold and the dollar all fell. Tony Dwyer, equity market strategist at FTN Midwest Research, referred to Friday's session as a "tug of war" over a Fed pause and and jitters about slower economic growth hurting corporate earnings. The market had an up-and-down week that left the S&P 500 and the Dow little changed from last Friday and the Nasdaq down 0.4 percent. So far this year, the Dow has gained 4.6 percent, the S&P is up 2.4 percent and the Nasdaq is down 5.5 percent. Monday's session promises more volatility as jitters set in ahead of the Fed meeting on Tuesday. Stock winners and losers Of the 30 stocks in the Dow, 17 rose and 13 fell. Toyota (up $1.17 to $108.14, Charts) reported a 39 percent jump in profit in the first quarter, sending shares up 1 percent. Goodyear Tire & Rubber (up $0.72 to $11.79, Charts) jumped 6.5 percent after the tire maker posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street's expectations, although profit tumbled 97 percent. On the downside, Apple Computer (down $1.29 to $68.30, Charts) sank nearly 2 percent in active Nasdaq trade after saying late Thursday it will probably have to restate earnings due to problems with stock option accounting. Career Education (down $8.08 to $19.50, Charts) slumped 29 percent after the for-profit education company reported quarterly earnings that misses forecasts. And Bristol-Myers Squibb (down $1.04 to $22.75, Charts) stock fell 4 percent after the CEO of drug benefits firm Medco said he expects a generic form of pharmaceutical company's blockbuster anti-clotting drug to become available this year. Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers edged out winners as 1.7 billion shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers four to three as 1.9 billion shares changed hands. Jobs report jolt Before the market opened, the government said that employers added 113,000 jobs to payrolls last month after adding a revised 124,000 in June. That was short of estimates of about 145,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.8 percent from 4.6 percent. Economists thought it would hold steady. The report's inflation component - average hourly earnings - ticked higher than what was expected. (Full story). But stock investors initially focused on the idea that sluggish job growth would allow the Fed to pause next week after two years of rate hikes. The central bank has raised its short-term rate target 17 straight times since June 2004, from 1 percent to 5.25 percent in a bid to contain inflation. Fed officials next meet on Tuesday. Traders are now betting there's only a 22 percent chance the central bank will boost rates another quarter-percentage point next week, down from a 41 percent chance late Thursday, according to futures contracts traded in Chicago. Treasury prices jumped following the report, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.90 percent from 4.95 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. In currency trading, the dollar hit a 2-month low against the euro and fell against the yen after the report. U.S. light crude oil for September delivery lost 70 cents to $74.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COMEX gold for December delivery slipped $1 to $656 an ounce. |
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