By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday,
with benchmark indexes retreating from records, after the
much-awaited July jobs report fell short of forecasts, which had
been rising after strong U.S. data this week.
The Labor Department reported the economy created 162,000 jobs
in July and the unemployment rate fell to 7.4%. Economists polled
by MarketWatch had forecast growth of 180,000 and some analysts had
grown even more optimistic, calling for a gain of above
220,000.
"The reality of a still-mediocre economy was evident in today's
payroll figure," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the
Lindsey Group.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 61.82 points, or
0.4%, to 15,566.20.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) lost 5.54 points, or 0.3%, to
1,701.33.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) fell 10.09 points, or 0.3%, to
3,665.66.
For every two stocks rising, about three fell on the New York
Stock Exchange, where 65 million shares traded as of 9:40 a.m.
Eastern. Composite volume hit 203 million.
The dollar (DXY) fell against the currencies of major U.S.
trading partners. Treasurys rallied after the jobs report, sending
the yield on the benchmark 10-year note (10_YEAR) down 8 basis
points to 2.632%.
Crude-oil futures (CLU3) fell 85 cents, or 0.8%, to $107.04 a
barrel.
The jobs report did little to change views on when the Federal
Reserve would start scaling back its $85 billion in monthly bond
purchases.
The year-to-date private-sector job-growth average of 196,000 is
near the 200,000 level spoken about as meeting the criteria for
reducing those bond buys, said Boockvar. "We'll see in September,"
he added.
At the same time the jobs report was released, the Commerce
Department said consumer spending rose 0.5% in June and personal
income was up 0.5%
Later on Friday, markets will get factory-orders data for June
and a speech from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who voted
in favor of the most recent interest-rate decision.
Wall Street had a blockbuster session on Thursday, with the
Standard & Poor's 500 index (SPX) pushing past 1,700 for the
first time as the market cheered jobless claims numbers and the
view that the Federal Reserve will continue with stimulus.Read:
S&P 500 at 1,700 is a 'yellow light' for Wall Street
Movers: Dell, AIG
Dell shares (DELL) advanced nearly 5% after The Wall Street
Journal said founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake, which are
looking to take the company private, were near a deal that would
raise their offer, in exchange for a change in voting rules that
would ensure abstentions aren't counted as "no" votes.
American International Group Inc. (AIG) rose 3% after the
insurer said late Thursday that it'll pay a dividend for the first
time since 2008 and its bottom line beat Wall Street forecasts.
LinkedIn (LNKD) jumped nearly 10% after the company posted
better-than-expected second-quarter results after Thursday's
closing bell.
Shares of Bank of America Corp. (BAC) slid less than 1% after
the Justice Department said it was suing the bank over jumbo prime
securitizations.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires