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U.S. stocks look for steady start after jobs data
Friday February 4, 9:05 am ET By Susan Lerner
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks were looking at a steady start to Friday's trading session as Wall Street assessed a weaker-than-expected January employment report.
S&P futures were up 0.40 to 1,190 while Nasdaq futures were off 2 to 1,509.50 and Dow futures slipped 5 to 10,581.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 5.4 percent to 5.2 percent in January, the lowest since September 2001. Nonfarm payrolls, however, rose a disappointing 146,000 in the month.
Economists were expecting payroll growth of about 189,000, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. The jobless rate was expected to remain at 5.4 percent. See Economic Report.
Analysts said the headlines were disappointing but may not be as bad for equities as they would suggest.
"I think for equities at this stage of the cycle we're kind of hoping for Goldilocks type of economic data," said Bryan Piskorowski, market analyst at Wachovia Securities. "Anything on the super strong side I think would create fears that the Fed will have an increased proclivity to tighten. At this point in time to have job creation maybe at a slower than expected pace might be ultimately positive for equities."
Treasurys rallied after the report. The benchmark 10-year note was up 15/32 at 101 5/32, dropping its yield to 4.10 percent, a six-week low.
The dollar lost ground against its chief counterparts in the wake of the report. The euro rose to $1.3038 from $1.2963 immediately after and has since been trading at $1.3027, up 0.4 percent against the dollar from where it stood late Thursday. The dollar fell to 103.59 yen compared to 103.85 just before the employment headlines hit newswires. The dollar remained down 0.8 percent against its Japanese counterpart on the day
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