YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Stocks got off to a mixed start after this morning's jobs data proved to be a disappointment. The anemic numbers turned into yet another argument in favor of additional easing while lower guidance from a technology bellwether contributed to a divergence in the major averages. The S&P 500 finished higher by 0.4% while the Nasdaq ended flat.

Nonfarm payrolls were reported at 96K versus the 130K Briefing.com consensus. The prior reading was revised down to 141K from 163K. In addition, nonfarm private payrolls added 103K against the 144K consensus. Separately, the unemployment rate was reported at 8.1% versus the 8.3% consensus estimate as the dip in the unemployment rate was attributed to more people leaving the workforce.

Major financials rallied after disappointing jobs data sparked another round of quantitative easing hopes. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 15.68, +0.16) advanced 1.0% as Bank of America (BAC 8.80, +0.45) and Morgan Stanley (MS 17.08, +0.83) gained over 5.0% each. Other major names showed less robust advances as Citigroup (C 32.06, +0.94) and Goldman Sachs (GS 116.33, +2.79) added 3.0% and 2.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, European financials continued their exuberance for the second day in a row. Barclays (BCS 13.17, +0.86) and Deutsche Bank (DB 40.20, +2.59) jumped near 7.0% each.

Stocks listed in the Dow underperformed the broader market as two notable components showed weakness. Kraft Foods (KFT 39.99, -2.32) slid 5.5% after providing an update on its planned spin-off. Beginning October 1, 2012 the company will separate into two entities. Kraft Foods Group which will hold the North America grocery business will begin trading under the ticker ‘KRFT' while Kraft Foods will be renamed Mondelez International and trade under the symbol ‘MDLZ.' Today's weakness came after the company announced it expects Kraft Foods full-year 2013 earnings at $2.60 per share. Meanwhile, technology companies within the index are slumped after Intel (INTC 24.19, -0.90) cut its third quarter guidance below consensus. The technology bellwether slid 3.6% while Cisco (CSCO 19.56, -0.16), Microsoft (MSFT 30.95, -0.39), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 17.42, -0.17) lost between 0.8% and 1.5%.

Technology stocks outside of the Dow were also under pressure after Intel's guidance cut. Peer AMD (AMD 3.45, -0.21) slumped 5.7% while related names, NVIDIA (NVDA 13.40, -0.33) and Micron (MU 6.42, -0.25) slipped 2.4% and 3.8%, respectively.

The materials sector settled higher by 2.0% as it outperformed other sectors. Over the past two days, China announced plans to increase infrastructure spending which may bode well for basic materials demand. Iron and steel names showed biggest gains as Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 39.91, +5.05) jumped 14.5%. Meanwhile, United States Steel (X 20.89, +1.68), AK Steel (AKS 5.78, +0.41), and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 39.43, +3.09) posted advances near 8.0%.

Within the healthcare space, biotechnology stocks weighed on the rest of the sector. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI 91.59, -0.43) slipped 0.5%. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (SPPI 12.01, -0.59) posted the biggest loss within the group as it finished lower by 4.7%. Meanwhile, Medivation (MDVN 105.65, -2.97) and Theravance (THRX 23.91, -0.28) fell 2.7% and 1.2%, respectively. On the upside, pharmaceutical company Peregrine (PPHM 4.50, +1.43) surged 46.6% after reporting that its Bavituximab drug has doubled the median overall survival rate in lung cancer patients who are taking part in the company's phase II trial.

Internet radio provider Pandora (P 10.47, -2.10) slumped 16.7% after reports suggested Apple (AAPL 680.44, +4.17) may include internet radio on its devices and integrate the service into its iTunes store. Apple finished higher by 0.6% after marking a fresh all-time high at $681.50 while today's selling has dropped shares of Pandora back to levels last seen before its August 30 earnings report.

Week in Review: Mario Draghi Press Conference Highlights the Week

On Monday, stocks got off to a strong start before stumbling slightly when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not hint at additional easing, but instead reaffirmed his commitment to act if economic conditions worsen. Mr. Bernanke commented on the stagnation of the labor market, calling it a "grave concern" which bears monitoring. As a result, the S&P 500 finished higher by 0.5%. European financials saw broad advances as plans to create a Spanish "bad bank" surfaced. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA 8.27, +0.23) gained 5.0%.

On Tuesday, stocks opened unchanged before falling into the red after economic data missed expectations. The August ISM Index was reported at 49.6 versus the 50.0 Briefing.com consensus, while July construction spending fell 0.9% month-over-month, against the expected increase of 0.5%. After reaching session lows 90 minutes after the open, stocks staged a slow climb higher which was punctuated by a broad-based mid-afternoon rally. Stocks rallied back near the flat line where they remained until the end of the day. As a result, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% while Nasdaq gained 0.3%. NVIDIA (NVDA 13.40, -0.33) slid 5.4% after being downgraded from ‘equal weight' to ‘underweight' by Evercore.

Wednesday's session was spent mostly around the unchanged line. The early morning volatility coincided with a Bloomberg TV report which indicated the European Central Bank bond purchase program was said to pledge unlimited, sterilized buying of bonds. However, the exuberance was short-lived as European Central Bank officials declined to comment, and reports out of Germany suggested Chancellor Angela Merkel would only support the program in the near-term. Afternoon trade was mostly quiet as the S&P 500 remained in a narrow range before closing lower by 0.1%. FedEx (FDX 87.38, -0.16) shed 2.0% after lowering its first quarter guidance, citing weaker global demand.

Crude oil rose for a third consecutive session after it got a boost from a weaker dollar following lower-than-anticipated jobs data. The energy component fell to its pit session low of $94.08 per barrel shortly after equity markets opened but worked its way back into positive territory. It continued to advance in afternoon action and finished slightly below its session high of $96.74 per barrel. However, crude's climb fell short of a weekly gain as it settled at $96.42 per barrel, or 4 cents below last week's closing price despite strong inventory data.

Natural gas struggled in the red for its entire floor session, dipping to a session low of $2.67 per MMBtu. Trading in natural gas futures was temporarily halted in morning action at $2.70 per MMBtu due to technical issues. After trading resumed, natural gas chopped around just below that level and settled the week 4.3% lower at $2.68 per MMBtu.

Precious metals surged into positive territory following the weak U.S. jobs report as the data renewed hopes for yet another round of quantitative easing to aid the economy. Momentum continued as both gold and silver continued to climb higher as their sessions progressed. Gold touched a new high not seen since February of $1745.40 per ounce and settled the week 3.2% higher at $1740.10 per ounce.

Silver brushed a session high of $33.78 per ounce just before it finished with an impressive 7.3% weekly gain at $33.73 per ounce. The week's advance was also supported by yesterday's ECB's announcement of a bond-buying program and a number of U.S. economic data.

On Thursday, equities began sharply higher, and added to their gains throughout the opening hour of trade. The remainder of the day was spent hovering near session highs. The bullish sentiment was sparked after Mario Draghi confirmed Thursday's reports of a European Central Bank plan to buy bonds of troubled sovereigns who ask for aid. The program will be limited to bonds maturing within three years. Better-than-expected U.S. economic data also added to the upbeat tone which resulted in a broad market rally. The Nasdaq closed at a 12-year high while the S&P 500 settled at levels not seen since January 2008. The two indices finished higher by 2.2% and 2.0%, respectively. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 15.68, +0.16) added 2.4%.DJ30 +14.64 NASDAQ +0.61 SP500 +5.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1433/1.68 bln/1015 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2030/680.4 mln/935