Often it is the case that when the market awaits big news or important data, investors seem to wait on the sidelines and stocks trade in a tight range, often flat. This morning is no different. With the labor report released in about an hour, U.S. stock futures are mixed, near flat, as investors await the data.Despite jobless claims Thursday rising to the highest level in two-and-half years, U.S. stocks finished with a modest rise thanks to better-than-forecast ISM service figures. The Dow industrials finished up 20 points, or 0.16%, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each rose more than a point, or 0.16% and 0.08% respectively.
Today, investors will focus their attention on the March jobs report due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Non farm payroll is expected to show a decline once again -- the third straight month. Economists expect the release show a decline of 50,000 jobs. Also, the unemployment rate is estimated to have risen to 5% in March. No doubt, the market will react to the jobs report as soon as it comes out.
In corporate news, and related to the subject of jobs, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) said late Thursday it was laying off 2,600 employees, after it has already laid off more than 10,000 employees since last year.
Meanwhile, problems in the financial sector are not completely over yet and each day some other news item reminds us of the turmoil that may have seen its worst days these past weeks. Today, we hear that a former president of UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) urged the Swiss bank to split off the investment banking unit. UBS has announced over $37.4 billion in writedowns over the past nine months resulting from the subprime crisis.
Another sector that has dominated the headlines this past week was pharmaceutical. This morning, for a change, the news is positive as GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) said Thursday it had received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine to prevent rotavirus in infants, a market currently dominated by Merck (NYSE: MRK).
Overseas, Asian markets were mixed, while European markets gained by midday trading.
Will Rich Ross really have a positive impact on Disney's movie operations?
Consumers sick of recession, may spend extra on holidays
Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
