Uncertain Session Sends Traders Off to Bite Nails Ahead of Data

At the close, all bets were off ahead of the Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls number, as traders saved for what could be a rainy Friday. But after last week's stronger-than-expected Employment Cost Index and GDP implicit price deflator caused a torrential selloff, could tomorrow's data bring in a ray of hope for only a 25-basis-point hike, or just the glassy sea before a roiling tsunami?

Major Indices INDEX CHANGE % VALUE YR TO DATE Dow 67.64 -0.6% 10,412.49 -9.4% S&P 500 5.72 -0.4% 1409.38 -4.1% Nasdaq 12.93 -0.4% 3720.24 -8.6% Russell 2000 6.35 +1.2% 501.91 -0.6% TSC Internet 20.35 +2.34% 889.57 -22.9% NOTE CHANGE PRICE YIELD 10-Year Treasury 8/32 100 14/32 6.43%

"It's very quiet right now, but all eyes are on the unemployment number," said Patrick Boyle, director and head financial trader at Credit Suisse First Boston.

Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was tight lipped this morning as he addressed the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The G-man spoke with caution but did not touch on his plans for the fed funds rate . By keeping the hot topic hush-hush, Greenspan actually bolstered bonds and buffered stocks against the Labor Department's report that first-quarter productivity rose just 2.4%, below the Reuters consensus poll forecast of 3.7%. Unit labor costs came in stronger than expected at 1.8%, topping the 1% outlook and surpassing last quarter's 2.5% decline. ...