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Lower market blamed on job growth { May 7 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/07/markets/stockswatch/http://money.cnn.com/2004/05/07/markets/stockswatch/
Futures recoil at job report
With strong April jobs report, futures point to lower open for markets.
May 7, 2004: 8:43 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower opening for the markets Friday as the April employment report came in well ahead of estimates for the second consecutive month, raising the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates sooner than originally anticipated.
S&P and Nasdaq futures fell sharply after the report, but then came back slightly.
The key number economists and investors are watching is the number of new jobs added to U.S. payrolls, which came in at 288,000 in April after a revised 337,000 in March. The unemployment rate came in at 5.6 percent.
Economists expected companies to add 165,000 jobs in April and an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, according to Briefing.com.
Treasury prices tumbled after the report , with the 10-year note yielding 4.73 percent. The dollar gained against the yen and euro.
Concern about interest rates, weak retail sales, higher oil prices and the budget deficit helped send stocks lower Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index was off by 1 percent (see chart for details).
With Friday's session to come, the Dow is up by 15.69 this week, while the Nasdaq is 17.59 ahead.
Asian-Pacific stocks ended mostly lower Friday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 1.6 percent. European markets were flat. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates) was little changed. Analysts say the fast-food restaurateur is under pressure to come up with a new succession plan after new CEO Charlie Bell, who got the job after Jim Cantalupo's fatal heart attack less than a month ago, underwent cancer surgery.
Brent oil futures for July delivery rose 62 cents to $36.68 a barrel in London, where gold slipped.
In corporate news, Fannie Mae's (FNM: Research, Estimates) regulator said in a letter released Thursday evening the mortgage finance giant has not applied the proper accounting to recognize losses and revenues from some of its businesses, including manufactured housing and aircraft lease securities.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's probe of the insurance-brokerage community is wider than previously known.
Pixar Animation Studios (PIXR: Research, Estimates) said quarterly profits more than tripled on strong sales of its "Finding Nemo" DVD, as it easily topped both its own guidance and analysts' already higher consensus forecast for the period.
But the company warned its second-quarter earnings would be about 30 cents a share, rather than the 48-cent consensus EPS forecast of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.
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