Wall St mixed as investors snap up financial stocks

Stocks reversed a steep sell-off to end mostly higher today as fears about a worrying jobs report gave way to bargain-hunting in sectors like financials and consumer staples.

Wall Street initially fell after the Labor Department reported that payrolls shrank more than predicted last month and that the unemployment rate reached a five-year high. But stocks which had been pounded lower, including a huge drop yesterday, were suddenly more attractive to investors willing to make some bets.

The Labor Department said payrolls shrank by 84,000 last month, more than the 75,000 economists predicted, and higher than the 51,000 jobs lost in July. The unemployment rate rose to a five-year high of 6.1% from 5.7%.

The report confirmed Wall Street’s fears that the economy continues to weaken. The nation has lost nearly 550,000 jobs so far this year, eroding investors’ hopes for a late-year recovery.

“This was an ugly number that pretty much confirms that our economy continues to trend downward,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank. “I had thought things were stabilising, and this just knocks the legs out of any hope of seeing much economic improvement right now.”

But investors snapped up stocks hit in a sell-off yesterday, particularly banks and insurers.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.73, or 0.29%, to 11,220.96; the blue chips had been down 150 points at their lows of the session.

Broader stock ended mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.48, or 0.44%, to 1,242.31, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 3.16, or 0.14%, to 2,255.88.

Today’s moves follow a dismal performance yesterday, with all three major indexes moving back into bear market territory, defined as a 20% drop from a recent peak. The Dow plunged more than 340 points in a sell-off underpinned by disappointing economic news and lacklustre sales reports from retailers.

For the week, the Dow lost 2.8%, the S&P 500 gave up 3.2% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq fell 4.7%. The indexes remain in bear market territory, down from their October highs.

After the market was closed for the Labor Day holiday, stocks fell moderately on Tuesday and were mixed on Wednesday amid jitters about the economy.

Bond prices fell today. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.66% from 3.62% late yesterday.

“Since mid-July I think it’s become apparent that the global economies have really weakened pretty sharply,” said Thomas J Lee, US equities strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co in New York.

He said that while investors had been applauding the drop in oil prices since then, there was an assumption that lower commodities prices would hasten a recovery in the US economy. Now, he said, investors are worried that the economy might be weakening even as oil falls.

“It’s disinflation coupled with an accelerating downside in the economy. That’s not what people were prepared for. I think people were expecting disinflation as an economic recovery was under way,” said Mr Lee. “The surge in unemployment today really underscores that fear.”

Wall Street again found little comfort from falling oil. Crude at one point dropped below 106 dollars a barrel today as the dollar continued to gain on the euro and investors waited to see whether Opec moves to restrict output next week following a two-month plunge in prices.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is scheduled to meet early next week in Vienna and has indicated it may take action to defend the 100 dollars-a-barrel level.

Light, sweet crude settled down 1.66 dollars to 106.23 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Among financials carving out advances, Citigroup Inc rose 77 cents, or 4.2%, to 19.07 dollars, while Bank of America Corp rose 1.63 dollars, or 5.3%, to 32.23 dollars. Wachovia Corp rose 1.22 dollars, or 7.9%, to 16.75 dollars.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc rose 1.03 dollars, or 6.8%, to 16.20 dollars after a Sandler O’Neill & Co analyst said he expects the troubled investment bank to survive the credit crisis. The stock has fluctuated on reports that it is hammering out a deal for a cash infusion or buyout.

In the consumer staples sector, smokeless tobacco maker UST Inc surged following a report from The New York Times that Altria Group Inc plans to acquire the company.

Altria, parent of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA, dismissed the report as “pure speculation.” Nonetheless, UST, the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen brands, jumped 13.55 dollars, or 25%, to 67.55 dollars, while Altria rose 29 cents to 20.95 dollars.

Energy names slipped as oil continued its drop. Chevron Corp declined 1 dollar to 80.22 dollars, while ConocoPhillips fell 1.05 dollars to 75.43 dollars.

Advancing issues narrowly outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.2 billion shares compared with 1.3 billion shares traded yesterday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.23, or 0.03%, to 718.85.

And the gloom about the US economy was not contained to just major American indexes. Investors overseas sent shares sharply lower on concerns about America’s effect on global growth.

Japan’s Nikkei stock fell 2.75%. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 ended down 2.26%, Germany’s DAX index dropped 2.42%, and France’s CAC-40 shed 2.49%.