Market Roundup: Friday’s Rally Not Enough to Counteract Early Week Losses

Economy/Stock Market

The markets opened the week with gains as both oil prices and Energy sector shares rose. Stocks traded lower on Tuesday with brands dipping on less-than-optimum quarterly details from Alcoa, who unofficially kicked off earnings season, as well as a downswing in oil. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled at $50.84 a barrel. Indices closed out Wednesday with mixed results. The Dow and S&P 500 closed in the green while the NASDAQ ended in the red zone for the session. Moves were mixed amid the release of minutes from the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting as well as a dip in crude oil. The bulk of FOMC members voted to keep rates unchanged while three dissented. OPEC boosted output to 33.39 million barrels per day in September, up 220,000 barrels. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled at $50.18 a barrel. Stocks rebounded up from early session levels to land just slightly lower on Thursday. Meanwhile, crude oil prices climbed despite a jump in reserves. Energy Information Administration data showed inventories rose by 4.9 million barrels in the past week. Department of Labor figures showed initial jobless claims held steady at 246,000 last week, versus expectations of 254,000 new claims. Indices ended the week in positive territory, as a rally among financial shares faded in the wake of stronger-than-expected quarterly results from the likes of Citigroup and Wells Fargo. In a preliminary measure, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index slipped to 87.9 from 91.2 in September. Elsewhere, U.S. retail sales rose by 0.6% versus an expected increase of 0.7%. Excluding cars and energy, sales rose 0.3%, as anticipated. 

Market Roundup: Mid-Week Gains Not Enough to Push Markets Positive for the Week

Economy/Stock Market

The markets kicked off the week closing in the red zone with stocks trading lower amid a variety of economic news. The ISM Manufacturing Index hit 51.5, versus consensus expectations of 50.2, indicating manufacturing increased. The reading was up from 49.4 in August. The slip continued on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 0.25% to settle at $48.69 a barrel. However, Energy stocks led advancers on Wednesday. Stocks stepped up on rising crude oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.01% to settle at $50.29 a barrel. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index climbed 5.7 points to 57.1, exceeding expectations. Factory orders also edged up 0.2% in August. Durable goods orders tacked on 0.1% while orders for nondurable goods rose 0.2%. Indices closed with mixed moves on Thursday. The Dow and NASDAQ shed some points while the S&P 500 eked out a fractional gain ahead of Friday’s jobs report. Labor Department numbers showed new jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 249,000 for the week ending October 1. The four-week average declined by 2,500 to 253,500, marking its lowest level since 1973. West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 1.34% to settle at $50.50 a barrel. Trading closed in red territory on Friday, with stocks slipping on a downtick in oil prices and less-than-optimum employment numbers. West Texas Intermediate crude oil dipped 1.49% to settle at $49.69 a barrel. Meanwhile, Labor Department data showed the U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in September versus a median estimate of 172,000. The U.S. unemployment rate edged up to 5% from 4.9%.