NEW YORK, Sept 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US stocks finished little changed on
Friday after a ho-hum report on jobs creation and encouraging words from the
chairman of the central bank.
But Wall Street’s major indexes nevertheless posted gains for the week,
after investors gleaned hopes of progress in the US-China trade war and Hong
Kong’s long-running political drama.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent to 26,797.46.
The broader S&P 500 gained less a tenth of a percent, closing at 2,978.71.
But the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.2 percent to 8,103.07.
All three indexes gained between 1.5 percent and 1.8 percent for the week,
marking their second straight week of gains.
US employers added a weaker-than-expected 130,000 net new jobs in August,
showing a hiring slowdown across industrial sectors.
Gorilla Trade strategist Ken Berman said the surprisingly weak jobs number
is “slightly worrying for bulls” but, given low unemployment and rising
wages, “the consumer economy should continue to drive economic growth in the
US.”
Speaking in Zurich on Friday, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
vowed that policy makers would “act as appropriate” to sustain the American
economy’s expansion — a signal to markets that a rate cut is likely this
month.
Investors also digested news of more economic stimulus in China but
worryingly weak industrial output in Germany.
Among individual companies, shares in Facebook fell 1.8 percent after
several state attorneys general announced they were pursuing an antitrust
investigation of the company’s consumer data and advertising practices.