By Victor Reklaitis and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch Retail,
energy stocks also in spotlight
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks were on pace to end with
modest losses, having faded after jumping to intraday records
Thursday.
The stock market is showing typical caution ahead of Friday's
monthly jobs report, according to Peter Cardillo, chief market
economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
"It's not really falling out of bed," Cardillo told MarketWatch.
"Investors are bracing themselves for tomorrow's employment data,"
he also said.
Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 and Dow industrials
jumped to intraday records after a Bloomberg report raised fresh
hopes about European Central Bank stimulus plans. That came after
the Dow had been down as much as 98 points in morning action, with
analysts pointing to disappointment over comments from ECB
President Mario Draghi for the stock slide.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was down 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,069 at
last check, after briefly jumping to an intraday record above
2,077.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell by 43 points, or
0.2%, to 17,870 after hitting an intraday record just below 17,938.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) lost 10 points, or 0.2%, to 4,765.
Thursday's choppy action comes after both the S&P 500 and
the Dow bagged record closes on Wednesday.
All eyes on the ECB, jobs data: ECB President Mario Draghi said
in a news conference on Thursday that the central bank is prepared
to implement more easing next year if necessary. U.S. stock futures
dipped into negative territory as he spoke, suggesting he didn't
sound as dovish as some traders expected. Check out our live blog
of the ECB news conference
The Bloomberg report, which cited unnamed central bankers,
apparently did a better job of fulfilling those expectations, as it
said the central bank expects to consider a proposal for
broad-based asset purchases in January. While market watchers on
Twitter debated whether the report offered much new information,
Mark Dow of the Behavioral Macro blog summed things up as
follows:
(https://twitter:com/mark_dow/status/540566483378528257 .)
In U.S. economic news, weekly jobless claims fell to 297,000,
basically in line with forecasts for 298,000. This figure comes
ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report, a big event that might be
giving some investors a reason to play it safe Thursday. Why
economists say 400,000 jobs could be added
Energy, retail in focus: Energy fared worst among the S&P
500's 10 sectors, as oil prices (CLF5) once again dropped.
Meanwhile, Sears Holding Corp. (SHLD) shares were down after the
ailing retailer reported a wider third-quarter net loss on lower
revenue. Barnes & Noble Inc.(BKS) also fell after its quarterly
release, while Kroger Co. (KR) gained ground.(Read more in
MarketWatch's Movers & Shakers column
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sears-barnes-noble-dollar-general-earnings-in-focus-2014-12-04.)
Chinese stocks see best day in two years: The dollar(EURUSD)
mostly retreated against major rivals, while gold(GCG5) settled
lower.
European stocks finished sharply lower, with stock markets there
closing before the Bloomberg report.
Asian stocks rallied on the heels of U.S. gains on Wednesday.
China's Shanghai Composite soared 4.3%, the biggest rise in two
years, as retail investors piled in and banks upgraded prospects
for China's economy.
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