YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Strong
same-store sales results and an in-line weekly jobless claims count were offset
by the dollar's recovery. In turn, the stock market booked another flat finish
ahead of the always-pivotal nonfarm payrolls report.
Stocks started the session in
higher ground, but they were quickly cut down as the dollar started to rebound
off of an eight-month low. The dollar was down as much as 0.6% and climbed to a
0.4% gain before it settled with a 0.1% gain. Amid the dollar's doldrums the
euro set an eight-month high and the yen hit a 15-year high. The dollar's
turnaround led many to look past the latest lot of weekly jobless claims.
Initial claims for the week
ended October 2 totaled 445,000, which is slightly below the 455,000 claims
that had been expected among economists polled by Briefing.com and down 11,000
week-over-week. Continuing claims declined 48,000 week-over-week to 4.46
million, which is a bit more than the 4.45 million claims that had been widely
anticipated.
September same-store sales
were also shrugged off by the broader market, though a 13% increase in
same-store sales by Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 42.03, +3.44)
made its shares one of this session's best performers by percent gained. Of the
25 retailers covered by Briefing.com, 19 posted better-than-expected results.
As a group, retailers gained 0.4%.
Retailers helped lift the
consumer discretionary sector to a 0.3% gain. That tied tech for the best
performing sector of the session. Tech's strength came in contrast to the prior
session, when its weakness caused the Nasdaq to underperform.
Telecom was at the weak end of
things for the second straight session. It tumbled 1.2% today.
Earnings announcements were
light ahead of the latest from Dow component Alcoa (AA 12.20,
-0.17), which unofficially begins earnings season with its announcement. PepsiCo
(PEP 66.10, -2.01) and Immucor (BLUD 16.72, -3.72) both posted
in-line earning, but PepsiCo trimmed the top end of its growth outlook and
Immucor issued downside guidance. Marriott (MAR 35.67, -2.19)
reported a miss, but issued an in-line forecast.
Despite the flurry of
announcements, many participants spent the session looking ahead to the
official September nonfarm payrolls report, which will be released tomorrow
morning ahead of the open. There is an element of uncertainty around the
report, especially after the ADP Employment Change for September surprised to
the negative side.
The energy sector led the way
lower for commodities today, after it shed 2.7%. Nov natural gas dropped 4.3%
to settle at $3.62 per MMBtu. This morning's larger-than-expected inventory
data once again highlighted the bearish fundamentals surrounding natural gas.
It finished the session just above its lows at $3.61. Nov crude oil shed 2% to
finish at $81.67 per barrel. Strength in the dollar index helped crude pull
back from its ~5 month highs.
Profit taking and a rebounding
dollar index caused for the precious metals to sell off today. Dec gold shed
0.8% to finish at $1335.00 per ounce, while Dec silver closed down 1.7% to
$22.58 per ounce.
Advancing Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (+0.3%), Tech
(+0.3%), Utilities (+0.1%), Health Care (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Telecom (-1.2%), Materials (-0.9%),
Consumer Staples (-0.5%), Financials (-0.4%), Energy (-0.4%), Industrials
(-0.1%)DJ30 -19.07 NASDAQ +3.01 NQ100 +0.3% R2K -0.2% SP400 -0.1% SP500 -1.91
NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1153/1.86 bln/1463 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1357/915 mln/1596