Thu, July 05, 2012
NEW YORK, July 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Thursday amid disappointing economic data and investors' concerns over the economy.
A round of mixed economic data released on Thursday together with actions taken by central banks across the world to boost the market, added concerns over global economy.
According to Mark Otto, vice president at Knight Capital, investors were now concerned that behind the central banks' moves, there loomed a worse-than-expected economy.
When the market closed, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 47.15 points, or 0.36 percent, to 12,896.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 6.44 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,367.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.04 points to 2,976.12.
On the economic front, the ADP National Employment Report released Thursday showed that the private sector added 176,000 new employees last month.
Investors will be watching closely for the government's June employment report to be released Friday.
Moreover, the Institute for Supply Management's non- manufacturing index slowed to 52.1 in June from 53.7 in the previous month. The business activity component slowed significantly to its lowest rate of monthly growth in more than 2- 1/2 years. U.S. retailers reported largely disappointing sales in June. Thomson Reuters expected its same-store sales index to edge up 0.5 percent in June, far weaker than the 6.7-percent growth in the same period last year, as consumers pulled back on spending amid concerns about jobs and economy.
Meanwhile, moves by some central banks around the world to boost stimulus measures failed to offset investor concerns. The People's Bank of China cut interest rates, cutting its benchmark lending rate by 31 basis points and the benchmark deposit rate by 25 basis points.
The Bank of England decided to extend its quantitative easing program by 50 billion pounds, to 375 billion pounds, in an effort to boost the weak economy. The European Central Bank cut its deposit rate to 0 percent from 0.25 percent. As for other markets, the dollar index gained 1.070 to 82.942 in late New York trading on Thursday following moves by the central banks.
U.S. crude prices fell on Thursday over weak U.S. data, while the Brent crude rose amid the central banks' stimulus moves. Light, sweet crude for August delivery slipped 44 cents, or 0.50 percent to settle at 87.22 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, the Brent crude for August delivery rose 93 cents, or 0.93 percent to end at 100.70 dollars a barrel on supplies fears.
