U.S. market indexes were lower on Friday after payrolls data was much lower than expected. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17807.06 for a loss of -31.50 points or -0.18 percent. The S&P 500 was also down, closing at 2099.13 for a loss of -6.13 points or -0.29 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4942.52 for a loss of -28.85 points or -0.58 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was slightly lower at 13.47 for a loss of -0.16 points or -1.17 percent.
Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.
Friday’s Market Movers
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its May Employment Situation report which showed an increase in payrolls of 38,000. The consensus for jobs added was 158,000. The unemployment rate for the month was lower at 4.7 percent, down from 5 percent. The day’s report was a leading factor for the lower valuations in stocks and indicates that the economy could be growing at a slower pace which will likely delay interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve.
Readings on services and factory orders were also released Friday. The PMI Services Index was reported at 51.3 which was a gain from the prior month’s 52.8. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index was reported at 52.9 which was below consensus of 55.5 and below the previous month’s 55.7. Factory orders improved for the month. The Factory Orders report showed an increase of 1.9 percent for the month which was below consensus of 2.0 percent and an increase from the prior month’s 1.7 percent.
Stocks trading actively for the day included Bank of America Corp., Ford Motor Co., Citigroup Inc., Apple Inc., Pfizer Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Microsoft Corp.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stocks leading losses included the following:
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -2.27 percent
Nike Inc. -1.98 percent
JPMorgan Chase & Co. -1.78 percent
American Express Co. -1.39 percent
Microsoft -1.31 percent
In the broader market, sectors leading losses for the day included financial, consumer discretionary and energy. Sectors gaining for the day included utilities and materials.
The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4942.52 for a loss of -28.85 points or -0.58 percent. The Nasdaq 100 was also lower at 4509.79 for a loss of -21.56 points or -0.48 percent. In the technology sector, stocks leading losses in the Nasdaq 100 included the following:
Liberty Media Corp. -2.02 percent
Cognizant Technology Solutions -1.99 percent
Vertex Pharmaceuticals -1.94 percent
Micron Technology Inc. -1.91 percent
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. -1.84 percent
In commodities, gold traded higher as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a gain of 2.78 percent. The dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -1.56 points or -1.63 percent to 93.98.
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend lower closing at 1164.13 for a loss of -6.45 points or -0.55 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 709.55 for a loss of -3.66 points or -0.51 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Growth TSM closed at 7155.83 for a loss of -50.03 points or -0.69 percent. The DJ Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8346.97 for a loss of -22.95 points or -0.27 percent.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1500.90 for a loss of -6.19 points or -0.41 percent; the Russell 3000 which closed at 1238.82 for a loss of -4.15 points or -0.33 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 596.99 for a gain of 2.10 percent or 0.35 percent.