U.S. stocks closed lower overnight following some weaker than expected reports on manufacturing and the labor market. However buying in technology stocks limited losses at the end of what has been an upbeat quarter.
To the figures, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 30 points to 9,712. The S&P500 Index lost 4 points to 1,057 and the NASDAQ slipped 2 points to 2,122.
In economic news: The Chicago performance of manufacturing index dropped to a read of 46.1 in September from 50 in August. A read below 50 indicates contraction in the sector.
Payroll firm ADP released data showing that employers in the private sector slashed 254,000 jobs from their payrolls in September after cutting 277,000 in August. Economists had expected a cut of 200,000.
In company news: Shares in biotechnology company Discovery Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:DSCO) surged 22.52 per cent to $1.36. On fresh hopes that the company’s drug Surfaxin, which treats respiratory illnesses affecting premature infants, might be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after the FDA agreed to its proposed plan to address past concerns with the drug. The drug has been rejected four times before.
Shares in footwear designer Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose 7.67 per cent to $64.70. After posting better than expected earnings for the quarter, Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’.
Shares in integrated solar-power products manufacturer, Trina Solar Ltd (NYSE:TSL) rose 0.91 per cent to $32.17. The company says it has secured a five year extension on a contract to buy polysilicon from GCL-Poly Energy Holdings.
Shares in automotive retailer Penske Automotive Group Inc (NYSE:PAG) gained 7.39 per cent to $19.18. The company announced that it has ended talks with General Motors to purchase the Saturn brand.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The best performer overnight was Flextronics, up 3.89 per cent to $7.47, followed by Nvidia and Broadcom. On the downside, Steel Dynamics was the worst performer down 3.34 per cent to $15.34, followed by Wynn Resorts and Comcast.
