Upbeat Jobs Data Lifts S&P 500 and Indexes by 1%, Europe Struggles

Nichole Harper
04 Dec, 2015
New York City

November month payroll gains increased 211,000 and jobless rate declined to a seven-year low of 5%. Payrolls for October and September were revised higher by 35,000. European markets were on the defensive. Crude oil eased to one-year low after OPEC held its production quota despite the rising glut.

[R][11:55 AM New York City, New York – November month net payroll gains increased 211,000 and jobless rate declined to a seven-year low of 5%. Payrolls data for October and September were revised higher by 35,000. European markets were on the defensive. Crude oil eased to one-year low after OPEC held its production quota despite the rising glut.[/R]

Stocks on Wall Street traded higher and market indexes jumped more than 1% after the November month jobs report was ahead of expectations.

U.S. non-farm payroll employment in November rose 211,000 and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5% from October.

Employment increased in construction, professional, technical services and health care.

The number of unemployment were unchanged at 7.9 million, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

Trade deficit in October widened $1.4 billion to $43.9 billion from the revised $42.5 billion in September.

Exports in October dropped $2.7 billion and imports slipped $1.3 billion from September.

The goods deficit grew $2.1 billion and service surplus increased $0.6 billion, the Department of Commerce reported.

On Wall Street, Tollbooth Strategy Index jumped 118.87 or 1.1% to 10,952.42.

S&P 500 index jumped 28.42 or 0.4% to 2,078.6 and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 72.52 or 1.4% to 5,109.49.

Crude oil in New York declined $1.12 to $39.96 a barrel, a one-year low and gold soared $23.34 to $1,085.45 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Kroger Co ((KR)) slid 5 cents to $39.86 after the food and drugs retailer reported total sales in the third-quarter ending in October edged up 0.5% from a year ago to $25.1 billion.

Net income in the quarter surged 18.2% to $428 million or 43 cents per diluted share compared to $362 million or 36 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

Kroger reported LIFO charge in the quarter of about $9 million compared to $85 million in the same period a year ago.

The retailer lifted diluted earnings per share forecast for the year in the range of $2.02 to $2.04 from earlier estimated range between $1.92 and $1.98.

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc ((ULTA)) surged 9.2% or $14.94 to $177.95 after the beauty products retailer reported total sales in the third-quarter ending in October advanced 22.1% from a year ago to $910.7 million.

Comparable store sales in the quarter soared 12.8%, the increase was mainly driven by 10.6% growth in transactions and 2.2% growth in average ticket.

Retail comparable sales surged 10.9%, including salon comparable sales growth of 10.9%

Net income in the quarter jumped 20.2% to $71.1 million or $1.11 per diluted share compared to $59.1 million or 91 cents per share from the same quarter last year.

The company lifted net sales forecast for the fourth-quarter in the range of $1.21 billion to $123 billion compared to reported net sales of $1.05 billion in the same period a year ago.

European Markets

In London trading, FTSE 100 index dropped 18.77 or 0.3% to 6,255.96 and in Frankfurt the DAX index slipped 70.21 or 0.7% to 11,717.79.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slumped 30.88 or 0.7% to 4,699.41.

For the week, FTSE 100 index decreased 1.9% and the DAX index plunged 5.1% and the CAC 40 index declined 4.7%.

Berkeley Group Holdings Plc soared 7.2% to 3.593.92 pence after the U.K.-based home builder reported revenues in the first-half ending in October jumped 11.7% from a year ago to £1.14 billion.

Net profit in the period declined 3.8% from a year ago to £293.3 million compared to £304.9 million and diluted earnings per share dropped to 149.2 pence from 158.8 pence.

The company said its sell 2,091 new homes across the London and the South of England at an average selling price of £506,000.

Volkswagen AG gained 1.8% to €127.85 after the consortium of thirteen banks offered a loan of $30.63 billion to cover the costs of diesel-emissions scandal.

In the U.K., branded passenger cars sales of the company in November declined 20%, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said after the diesel emissions scandal.

Asian Markets

The Nikkei 225 average dropped to a three-week low and registered the largest one-day decline since November 2.

Stocks in Tokyo and in Asia declined and continued to drift lower for the second day after the European Central Bank failed to meet elevated market expectations of deeper stimulus steps.

Investors also remained cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. jobs data, due later today, and the decisions of the OPEC meeting in Vienna, that may lead to a change in crude oil production.

On Thursday, the ECB lowered rates deeper into negative territory and extended the duration of its stimulus program but failed to widen the program.

In London trading, The FTSE 100 lost 2.3%. In Frankfurt, DAX dropped 3.5% and in Paris, CAC 40 fell 3.6%.

The seasonally adjusted consumer confidence index in November jumped to 42.6 from 41.5 in the previous month, the Cabinet Office said.

The Nikkei business daily reported that Fujitsu, Toshiba Corp and Vaio Corp discuss a three-way merger of their personal computer operations.

Sega Sammy and Showa Denko declined after lowering their annual forecasts.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 435.42 or 2.2% to 19,504.48 and the broader Topix index slumped 28.92 to 1,574.02.

For the week, Nikkei 225 dropped 1.9%.

The yen weakened to 122.62 against a dollar.

Stocks in Mumbai traded lower for the second day in a row as foreign investors continued to trim net exposure and the Asia-wide weakness overshadowed trading.

Stocks in Mumbai and in Asia declined and the U.S. dollar continued to ride higher across all major currencies. In addition, the European Central Bank offered stimulus steps that fell short of market expectations.

Rupee weakened 5 paisa to 66.70 against one U.S. dollar.

The Sensex Index slipped 248.51 or 0.9% to close at 25,638.11. The CNX Nifty decreased 82.25 or 1.1% to 7,781.90.

For the week, Sensex Index dropped 1.7% and CNX Nifty declined 1.9%.

Jaiprakash Associates is looking to raise at least $700 million through a bond offering.