9/3/10 Recap

Information below aquired from CBOT

 

 DJIA Intraday Chart 9/3/10




Stocks Close Higher Ahead of Jobs Report 

Stocks ended higher for a third session, a day before investors got a better glimpse of the economy's health in the August jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 50.63 points, or 0.5 percent to 10,320.10.

The S&P 500 rose 9.81 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,090.10, while the Nasdaq rose 23.17 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,200.01. The CBOE volatility index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, was below 24.

Most S&P sectors were higher, with consumer discretionary, industrials and materials stocks performing best.

September was off to a strong start with back-to-back positive days. The Dow on Wednesday logged its biggest gain since July 7.

Several economic reports brought good news to investors on Thursday, but all eyes were on Friday's monthly jobs report. Economists are expecting to see a loss of 110,000 jobs in August, an improvement over July's 131,000 job loss.

A key figure in the report will be private payroll data, which economists expect will rise by about 42,000 jobs. On Wednesday, a report from ADP and Macroeconomic Advisors showed the private sector lost 10,000 jobs from July to August, mainly from a drop of 40,000 jobs in the goods-producing sector.

A negative number would obviously be bad news, and if private payrolls rise as expected, "it's still somewhat disappointing," said Jeff Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial. A positive private sector number, however, won't guarantee a market rally, Kleintop said.

That's because if the number comes in at, say, 100,000 jobs, the market ends up in a Catch-22: a number too small to signal a true economic recovery, but too big to justify the Federal Reserve stepping in to stimulate the economy, as many market participants hope, he said.

"It might be bad news no matter what the data is tomorrow," Kleintop said

Meanwhile Burger King soared more than 20 percent after the fast-food chain confirmed it is being sold to private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal worth $3.26 billion.
 

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