Wall Street Closes Modestly Higher Despite Weak Employment Data
11/6/2009, RTTNews , 4:53 PM ET
(RTTNews) – Stocks saw only slim moves to close out the week on Friday, as subdued reaction to monthly employment figures kept the major averages near the unchanged mark. The major averages were able to recover from a pullback at the opening bell and managed to close modestly higher. Despite some shaky sessions this week, the major averages all finished considerably higher, with the Dow and the S&P 500 advancing by 3.2 percent and the Nasdaq climbing by 3.3 percent.
The initial weakness came on the heels of the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that employment fell by more than expected in the month of October, with the continued decline in jobs pushing the unemployment rate up to a new twenty-six year high above 10 percent.
Non-farm payroll employment fell by 190,000 jobs in October following a revised decrease of 219,000 jobs in September. Economists had expected a decrease of about 175,000 jobs compared to the loss of 263,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
With the continued drop in jobs, the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October from an unrevised 9.8 percent in September. The unemployment rate had been expected to show a more modest increase to 9.9 percent.
In related news, President Barack Obama signed a bill extending unemployment coverage for 14 weeks across the country and adding an additional six weeks for areas with the highest unemployment. The bill also extends and expands the first-time homebuyer tax credit.
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