Friday, December 05, 2008
Worries About Jobs And Profits
Continued worries about future profits and job cuts leaves stocks down on Thursday. The Dow lost 215.45 points to close at 8,376.24. The SPX fell 25.52 pointsto finish the session at 845.22.
Job cuts were the story Thursday with several big name companies reporting layoffs. Shares of AT&T (T) fell more than three percent on the session after it announced it would lay off four percent of its workforce, or 12,000 jobs! Dupont (DD) also announced cuts, laying off 2,500 workers and possibly up to 4,000 contractors.
Still on the the same topic of jobs, jobless claims fell during the week ending Nov. 29 to a level of 509,000. This was much better than the expected reading of 529,000 and last week’s figure of 530,000. However, the four-week moving average rose by 6,250 claims to 524,500. This is a level that points to weakness in nonfarm payrolls for November. Current expectations are for nonfarm payrolls to fall by 300,000 with the unemployment rate rising to 6.7 percent.
Friday’s session could be volatile with the payroll report coming out. Stocks will trade in reaction to the nonfarm payrolls figure and how it compares with estimates. Traders will also be looking at the unemployment rate. The bulls will need to see a good session Friday in order for the major market indices to close in the black during the first week of December.
We hope to get a play on today after the report.
Until next time.
Job cuts were the story Thursday with several big name companies reporting layoffs. Shares of AT&T (T) fell more than three percent on the session after it announced it would lay off four percent of its workforce, or 12,000 jobs! Dupont (DD) also announced cuts, laying off 2,500 workers and possibly up to 4,000 contractors.
Still on the the same topic of jobs, jobless claims fell during the week ending Nov. 29 to a level of 509,000. This was much better than the expected reading of 529,000 and last week’s figure of 530,000. However, the four-week moving average rose by 6,250 claims to 524,500. This is a level that points to weakness in nonfarm payrolls for November. Current expectations are for nonfarm payrolls to fall by 300,000 with the unemployment rate rising to 6.7 percent.
Friday’s session could be volatile with the payroll report coming out. Stocks will trade in reaction to the nonfarm payrolls figure and how it compares with estimates. Traders will also be looking at the unemployment rate. The bulls will need to see a good session Friday in order for the major market indices to close in the black during the first week of December.
We hope to get a play on today after the report.
Until next time.
# posted by Paul @ 4:20 AM 
