Market Roundup: Despite Lackluster Jobs Numbers, Stocks Close Week Marginally Lower

Economy/Stock Market

Market indices began the week positive with Consumer Discretionary stocks leading the way up while Energy brands trailed with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 2.5% to settle at $44.78 a barrel. The ISM Manufacturing Index slipped to 50.8 from March’s reading of 51.8. Economists had expected a lesser decrease to 51.5. Stocks fell to their lowest level in three weeks on Tuesday, likely because of weak manufacturing data from China. Energy stocks felt the effect of a continued slip in crude oil. The fall in Energy continued on Wednesday. Energy Information Administration figures showed U.S. reserves increased by 2.8 million barrels last week, versus the 1.2 million barrels expected. The services industry activity ticked up in April, as the ISM non-manufacturing index moved up to 55.7 from 54.5 in March, exceeding expectations. Factory orders rose as new orders ramped up 1.1%, also beating consensus expectations. Indices closed with mixed moves on Thursday with the Dow producing a slight gain while both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ shed some points. Labor Department data showed new jobless claims climbed by 17,000 to 274,000. Trading ended in green territory on Friday. Carmaker and raw materials brands stepped up and Energy sector stocks climbed on an upswing in crude oil. Labor Department data showed an addition of 160,000 jobs in April, which was well shy of an expected 200,000. Gains for February and March were revised down by a total of 19,000 while the unemployment rate held steady at 5%.