Stocks ended mixed as investors digested a cautious economic outlook from the Fed one day before a key report on the job market. On Friday, the government is expected to report the U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January. That would mark a sharp slowdown versus December, when 200,000 jobs were created, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.6%. On the upside, initial jobless claims totaled 367,000, well below estimates of 375,000. Big gains from Zynga, and advances from Qualcomm and Electronic Arts highlighted trading in tech stocks, with many investors taking the day to assess Facebook’s filing for a $5 billion initial public stock offering. Also, Dell added 1.15% after Morgan analyst raised his rating to overweight from underweight and lifted price target. Qualcomm boosted its forecast for its 2012 performance and gained 2%. Sony fell 6% after the company reported disappointing earnings and revenue. Implied volatility little changed on moderate trading volumes.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Posted limited gains ahead of jobs report
Stocks ended mixed as investors digested a cautious economic outlook from the Fed one day before a key report on the job market. On Friday, the government is expected to report the U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January. That would mark a sharp slowdown versus December, when 200,000 jobs were created, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 8.6%. On the upside, initial jobless claims totaled 367,000, well below estimates of 375,000. Big gains from Zynga, and advances from Qualcomm and Electronic Arts highlighted trading in tech stocks, with many investors taking the day to assess Facebook’s filing for a $5 billion initial public stock offering. Also, Dell added 1.15% after Morgan analyst raised his rating to overweight from underweight and lifted price target. Qualcomm boosted its forecast for its 2012 performance and gained 2%. Sony fell 6% after the company reported disappointing earnings and revenue. Implied volatility little changed on moderate trading volumes.
