(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures retreated on Friday after a government release showed that the economy shed a smaller than expected 247,000 jobs in July.
At 8:37 am ET, the
S&P 500 rose 8.70 points to 1003.60. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 66 points to 9295. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 16 points to 1617.25.
A
Labor Department release on Friday showed that the economy shed 247,000 jobs in July. Economists expected a decline of 325,000. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% in July. Economists had projected a reading of 9.7%.
Early on Friday,
American International Group Inc. (NYSE:
) said that it swung to second quarter profit of $1.82 billion, or $2.30 a share in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $5.36 billion, $41.13 a share a year ago. Second-quarter 2009 adjusted net income was $2.0 billion, compared with an adjusted net loss of $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2008. Total revenue for the second quarter was $29.52 billion, versus $19.93 billion a year ago.
Late on Thursday,
CBS Corp. (NYSE:
) said that its second-quarter profit declined 96% to $15.4 million, or 2 cents a share, compared to a profit of $408.4 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding items, CBS said it would have earned $57.4 million, or 8 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue dropped 11% to $3.01 billion.
Meanwhile, the
Cash for Clunkers incentive program got a new life late Thursday after the Senate approved $2 billion in additional funding. The popular program is aimed at boosting auto sales.
British banking giant the
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:
) posted a loss of 1.04 billion pounds for the first six months of 2009, compared to a loss of 827 million pounds, in the same period a year ago.
US stocks finished lower on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday's unemployment report.
European stocks retreated in afternoon trade. At 12:48 pm London time, the UK FTSE slid 53.18 points or 1.13% to 4,637.35. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 0.59% and 0.87% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 rose 24 points or 0.23% to 10,412.09. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 523.87 points or 2.51% to 20,375.37.
NYMEX crude oil for September delivery climbed as much as $1.03 or 1.4% to $70.91 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
