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Stock Rally Ends, As US Jobs Data Rattles Markets ? Latest Market Analysis

A generally good week for shares prices and investors unfortunately ended on a down note. Markets started the day trading around 1 percent lower than the previous close, nervous of US employment data due out later in the day. Despite late downward revisions, economists were generally expecting the US economy to have created between 50,000 and 80,000 new jobs during the month of August but were caught off-guard as the number came in at shocking zero.

Despite potentially increasing the chances and strengthening the argument for further stimulus, markets fell yet further with the FTSE 100 slipping to 2.8% down on the day by mid afternoon. The French and German markets continued their recent trend of underperforming London and slipped as far as 4% down at times.

At the close, the FTSE 100 had lost 127 points, 2.3% lower at 5292, but had still gained 3% over the course of the four day trading week.

There was more bad news for shareholders of AstraZeneca, after it announced a study of its much hyped anti-cholesterol drug, Crestor, revealed no significant benefits over rival Pfizer’s already market leading product, Lipitor. Currently generating $12 billion a year in sales, Lipitor’s patent expires next month and Astra had hoped a superior product would steal the sales now likely to go to cheaply made copies. Shares closed £1.06 lower at £28.09.

So with another day of volatility in equity markets it was no surprise to see gains in US and UK treasury bonds, traditional safe havens of the Swiss franc and Japanese Yen, plus gold, which gained $50 to close at $1877.5

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Dance .