Stocks Finish Mixed Ahead of Friday's Job Report

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks managed to claw their way out of deep losses to finish mixed on Thursday as investors saw signs of hope in better-than-expected U.S. jobs data ahead of the government's Friday report monthly jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat after spending most of the day in negative territory, dropping 3 points, or less than 0.1%, at 12,414. The S&P 500 climbed 4 points, or 0.3%, at 1,281. The Nasdaq led gains, advancing 22 points, or 0.8%, at 2,670.

The Dow's 30 components were roughly split between positive and negative, as Bank of America (BAC), up 80%, led gains. Boeing (BA), Chevron (CVX) and United Technologies (UTX) were dragging the index lower.

Headlines from Europe returned to the forefront after a brief period of quiet in the last days of 2011 to drag stocks lower in the morning. Already, stocks lost steam yesterday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing about flat, and the Dow ekking out 21 points.

On Thursday, France sold 10-year bonds at a yield of 3.29%, up from 3.18% at a similar auction in December. Meanwhile, yields of Hungary's one-year bills climbed to their highest level since 2009. Upcoming debt auctions are expected to further highlight soaring borrowing costs in the region, with Italy and Spain holding their own bond auctions next week. The euro, often a gauge of sentiment on Europe's debt crisis, was dropping more than 1% to its lowest level against the dollar in more than a year.

"We are all well aware that European governments must refinance a lot of debt this year, and are anxiously monitoring when the next auctions are scheduled," said Ed Yardeni, economist and strategist with Yardeni Research.

2012 Stock Predictions and Outlook

Your one-stop shop for 2012 stock recommendations and market predictions.

Germany's DAX lost 0.25% while London's FTSE shed 0.78%. Japan's Nikkei Average settled 0.83% lower, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.46%.

Sentiment improved after markets in Europe closed, thanks to several signs of improvement in the domestic jobs market from the morning. The Labor Department's weekly read on initial jobless claims beat expectations. Some 372,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ended Dec. 31, down 15,000 from the prior week's reading. The forecast was for a dip to 375,000 according to Thomson Reuters. The prior week's figures were upwardly revised to 387,000 from 381,000.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said that planned job cuts by U.S. companies fell 1.6% to 41,785 in December from 42,474 in November.

Payroll firm Automatic Data Processing reported that companies created 325,000 new jobs in December, with much of the growth coming from small and medium sized businesses. The latest reading came in much stronger than the 178,000 forecast by Thomson Reuters, although analysts warned investors not to get too excited.

"This is the largest gain since last December," noted David Ader, strategist with CRT Capital Group. "But, bear in mind December seasonal adjustments may be in force," he added.

Thursday's jobs figures bode well for the government's monthly employment report on Friday. Economists forecast a jump in non-farm private payrolls of 165,000 for December, up from 140,000 in November. Accounting for job losses in the public sector, the economy probably created 150,000 new jobs in total, also up from 120,000 in the prior month.

The Institute for Supply Management said that its services-sector index for December came in at 52.6, barely up from 52 in the prior month. Economists forecast a rise to 53. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

1 2 Next › Last »