Click chart for more markets data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq bounced around the breakeven line.
Investors are taking a small step back as they consider the prospect of more wrangling over the U.S. budget in the weeks to come.
Bank stocks, which were among the biggest gainers on Wednesday, fell in early trading.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) were among the biggest losers on the Dow, while Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) were also lower.
Related: Wall Street's biggest headwind: Washington
Aside from keeping tabs on D.C. lawmakers, investors got a fresh look at the labor market, with the government's weekly report on initial jobless claims and the monthly report on private sector jobs from payroll processor ADP.
The private sector added 215,000 jobs in December, according to ADP, while the government reported first-time jobless claims rose 10,000 to 372,000 in the latest week.
The two jobs reports serve as a prelude to the government's closely watched monthly labor report, due Friday morning. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect job growth to have continued at a modest pace in December, with employers adding 150,000 jobs.
In November, employers added 146,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% as workers dropped out of the labor force.
Later Thursday afternoon, investors will mull over minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting in December. At that meeting, the Fed announced plans to expand its controversial stimulus program. The Fed also said it will keep accommodative policies in place until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5% or inflation exceeds 2.5% a year.
In corporate news, Family Dollar (FDO, Fortune 500) shares plunged after the discount retailer reported earnings that missed forecasts and issued a weak outlook.
Shares of Gap (GPS, Fortune 500) moved up slightly, after the retailer reported stronger-than-expected same store sales and announced a new $1 billion stock buyback.
Limited (LTD, Fortune 500) shares slid after the owner of Victoria's Secret said same store sales fell short of forecasts.
Shares of spam maker Hormel (HRL, Fortune 500) rallied after the company announced it was paying $700 million to acquire the Skippy brand from Unilever (UL).
Shares of SunPower (SPWR) spiked after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) invested between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in two of the solar company's projects.
Related: Fear & Greed Index shows greed on the rise
European markets were mostly in the red after posting gains of 2% Wednesday, while Asian markets ended higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.4%, while the Australia ASX All Ordinaries index added 0.8%. Markets in Tokyo and Shanghai were closed for an extended New Year's holiday.
The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound, but lost ground versus the Japanese yen.
Oil prices and gold prices edged lower.
The price on the 10-year Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.86% from 1.84% late Wednesday. 
First Published: January 3, 2013: 9:44 AM ET
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Stocks awake to fiscal cliff hangover
Dengan url
http://bolagaya.blogspot.com/2013/01/stocks-awake-to-fiscal-cliff-hangover_3.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Stocks awake to fiscal cliff hangover
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Stocks awake to fiscal cliff hangover
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar