Stocks end in the red, but finish well off session lows. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average is up 2.3% for the month of September and up
around 15% for the third quarter. The S&P 500 is up 3.6% for the
month, up 15% for the quarter. The Nasdaq ends September up 5.6% for
the month and gains 15.7% for the quarter.
The major averages were jostled in two-sided trading in the wake of
mixed economic data, including a much weaker-than-expected regional
manufacturing gauge.
The DJIA initially fell more than 100 points after the Chicago
Purchasing Managers Index came in at 46.1 not the 52 that Wall Street
economists expected. But by early afternoon, buyers emerged and lifted
stocks, sending the Dow up around 15 points before its resumed
shallower negative trading once again.
Earlier, the government said GDP, the broadest measure of the
economy, contracted at a smaller rate of 0.7% in the spring. The new
reading was better than the annualized 1.1% drop that economists were
predicting.
The ADP National Employment Report found that private sector
employment fell by 254,000 in September following a revised loss of
277,000 jobs in August. It was the fewest jobs lost since July 2008.
The DJIA is on track to record about a 15% quarterly gain, its best
three-month performance since a 17% surge in the final quarter of 1998,
when the tech bubble was still intact.
The S&P 500 is down 6.6 points, or 0.7%, at 1,053, after
ranging between 1,046 and 1,063. The Nasdaq Composite is down 8 points,
or 0.4%, at 2,116, after ranging between 2,092 and 2,138.
Crude oil closes up 5.8% at $70.61 a barrel.
In company news, one of the most active upside movers is Discovery
Laboratories (
DSCO). It said it held a teleconference with the FDA and
established an approach to potentially resolve the remaining primary
issue that Discovery Labs must address to gain U.S. marketing approval
of Surfaxin (lucinactant) to prevent Respiratory Distress Syndrome
(RDS) in premature infants.
TerreStar Networks, a majority-owned subsidiary of TerreStar
Corporation (
TSTR), announced an agreement between TerreStar and
AT&T (
T) to bring to market the first fully integrated satellite
cellular smartphone.
Volume leader CIT Group (
CIT) is leading the downside. It is
reportedly trying to swap debt for equity with its bondholders, a move
that could wipe out shareholders.
