Fri, July 02, 2010
NEW YORK – Stocks are trading in a tight range after a government report that factory orders fell in May for the first time in nine months.
Stocks have been fluctuating Friday following the government's report that private employers increased hiring last month at a slower pace than expected. Overall, 125,000 workers lost their jobs in June, worse than the drop of 110,000 analysts had forecast.
The government says May factory orders fell 1.4 percent for the biggest drop since March 2009, when major stock indexes hit a 12-year low.
The Dow Jones industrials are down 11 at 9,723. They were up 3 ahead of the factory report. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down less than 1 at 1,027, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 1 at 2,100.
(Agencies)
