Stocks edged lower, with energy firms falling the most among the S&P 500 Index’s 10 major sectors as oil slid below $107 a barrel. Crude-oil futures shed 2% after Saudi Arabia denied a report of a pipeline explosion. Tech stocks closed largely in the red, despite a strong performance from Yelp, which surged nearly 64% following the online review site’s initial public offering. This week investors will watch closely Greece and February’s job numbers, which are due out before the market opens Friday. Any indications that job growth has stalled will be taken as a negative by the markets. A view of labor market conditions will also come on Monday through the February services-activity report from the ISM and the Commerce Department’s report on factory orders in January Implied volatility inched lower on moderate trading volumes.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Labor market figures in focus
Stocks edged lower, with energy firms falling the most among the S&P 500 Index’s 10 major sectors as oil slid below $107 a barrel. Crude-oil futures shed 2% after Saudi Arabia denied a report of a pipeline explosion. Tech stocks closed largely in the red, despite a strong performance from Yelp, which surged nearly 64% following the online review site’s initial public offering. This week investors will watch closely Greece and February’s job numbers, which are due out before the market opens Friday. Any indications that job growth has stalled will be taken as a negative by the markets. A view of labor market conditions will also come on Monday through the February services-activity report from the ISM and the Commerce Department’s report on factory orders in January Implied volatility inched lower on moderate trading volumes.
