STOCKS dipped yesterday after a disappointing report on the jobs market renewed concern about the economy. Treasury yields sank to new lows as
investors sought safety and anticipated more stimulus measures from the Federal Reserve.
Payroll company ADP said private employers cut jobs in September for the first time in seven months. Investors are seeing a silver lining in the
news, however, hoping that it could help push the Federal Reserve to take more action to get the US economy going next month, including stepping
up its purchases of bonds.
"It's just a matter of when and how much," Christian Hviid, chief market strategist at Genworth Financial Asset Management, said of the Fed's
likely plans to buy bonds. "The motivation is to keep (interest) rates low."
Gold reached another high and the dollar slumped further against other currencies on anticipation that US interest rates could head even lower if
the Fed moves aggressively to buy bonds and take other measures to encourage borrowing.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23 points but broader indexes dropped and falling stocks outpaced those that climbed. The yield on the two
-year Treasury note touched a record low 0.38 percent, and the yield on the 10-year note fell to 2.39 percent. The 10-year yield touched its
lowest level since January 2009 when the country was mired in a recession.
More weak economic data in the coming weeks, including any disappointment from tomorrow's key Labor Department report on employment, could
provide further incentive for Fed action.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 22.93, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,967.65.
Broader indexes fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.78, or 0.1 percent, to 1,159.97, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 19.17, or 0.8
percent, to 2,380.66.
Falling stocks narrowly outpaced rising ones on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 980 million shares.