U.S. market indexes were mixed on Thursday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18419.30 for a gain of 18.42 points or 0.10%. The S&P 500 was down, closing at 2170.86 for a loss of -0.09 points or -0.01%. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5227.21 for a gain of 13.99 points or 0.27%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 13.48 for a gain of 0.06 points or 0.45%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains and losses:
Gains
Wal-Mart (WMT, Financial) 1.96%
Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial) 1.15%
Losses
American Express (AXP, Financial) -1.10%
Caterpillar (CAT, Financial) -0.61%
Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial) -0.56%
JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) -0.43%
Manufacturing data was in the spotlight on Thursday with reports on motor vehicle sales, productivity, the PMI Manufacturing Index, the ISM Manufacturing Index and Construction Spending. Preliminary motor vehicle sales data showed motor vehicle sales in North America at 13 million SAAR, which is below sales of 14.3 million in July. The consensus is for total motor vehicle sales of 17.1 million SAAR, which would be below the prior report of 17.9 million. The Productivity and Costs report showed productivity from workers down on a quarterly basis with a change from the previous quarter of -0.6%, following a -0.5% change from the previous report. The PMI Manufacturing Index was lower for August at 52.0 versus 52.9. The ISM Manufacturing Index was also lower with the Index falling to 49.4 in August from 52.6 last month. Construction spending was flat with total activity accounting for $1,153.2 billion in July, with no change in spending from June.
On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported its jobless claims. Jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 263,000.
Market indexes were mixed on Thursday. Weak manufacturing data in August showed that the market and economy are fragile and extremely sensitive. However, the positive expectation for Friday’s jobs report kept valuations mostly higher on Thursday.
In a CNBC report Thursday, market specialists discussed the affects of both manufacturing and the labor market on the investment market overall.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.
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