09/01/2004 15:14
U.S. markets await December employment report with Nasdaq at 2-1/2 year high.
Friday's December employment report will help end the first full week of 2004 on Wall Street, one that has seen gains that put the Nasdaq at a 2-1/2 year high.
At 5:40 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a lower open for stocks. But that's subject to change when the jobs report is released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect to see 148,000 jobs added in December, compared with 57,000 in November. But the unemployment rate is seen remaining at 5.9 percent. Such a report would ease, though probably not end, talk of a "jobless recovery" for the nation's economy.
"There are plenty of signs that we're really on the cusp of much better job growth -- it may be a month or two away, but it should be happening any month now," said Henry Willmore, chief economist at Barclays Capital.
It has been a positive week so far for the major indexes, especially the Nasdaq composite index. In fact, the tech-laden Nasdaq hasn't had a negative close in five 2004 sessions, including Thursday's 1.1 percent gain that put the index above 2,100 for the first time in 2-1/2 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6 percent Thursday and is up 182 points for the week to date.
Asian-Pacific stocks rallied Friday in response to Wall Street's gains, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1.2 percent. European markets were mixed in late morning trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) was slightly higher. The computing services company said Thursday that federal regulators may take civil action against the company for possible violation of securities laws related to an accounting transaction by a customer, retailer Dollar General.
Treasury prices advanced, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.24 percent from 4.25 percent late Thursday. The dollar bounced off its lows against the euro and also gained ground versus the yen.
Brent oil futures rallied 36 cents to $31.10 a barrel in London, where gold was up just below $423 an ounce.
Friday's December employment report will help end the first full week of 2004 on Wall Street, one that has seen gains that put the Nasdaq at a 2-1/2 year high.
At 5:40 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a lower open for stocks. But that's subject to change when the jobs report is released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect to see 148,000 jobs added in December, compared with 57,000 in November. But the unemployment rate is seen remaining at 5.9 percent. Such a report would ease, though probably not end, talk of a "jobless recovery" for the nation's economy.
"There are plenty of signs that we're really on the cusp of much better job growth -- it may be a month or two away, but it should be happening any month now," said Henry Willmore, chief economist at Barclays Capital.
It has been a positive week so far for the major indexes, especially the Nasdaq composite index. In fact, the tech-laden Nasdaq hasn't had a negative close in five 2004 sessions, including Thursday's 1.1 percent gain that put the index above 2,100 for the first time in 2-1/2 years.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6 percent Thursday and is up 182 points for the week to date.
Asian-Pacific stocks rallied Friday in response to Wall Street's gains, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1.2 percent. European markets were mixed in late morning trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) was slightly higher. The computing services company said Thursday that federal regulators may take civil action against the company for possible violation of securities laws related to an accounting transaction by a customer, retailer Dollar General.
Treasury prices advanced, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.24 percent from 4.25 percent late Thursday. The dollar bounced off its lows against the euro and also gained ground versus the yen.
Brent oil futures rallied 36 cents to $31.10 a barrel in London, where gold was up just below $423 an ounce.
Related Articles
