After impressive gains yesterday, U.S. markets were mixed on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 22.70 points to 10,967.42 while the Nasdaq fell 19.17 points to 2,380.66. The S&P 500 also closed lower, falling .83 points to 1,159.92.
While we got some good news yesterday about the manufacturing sector and the steps Japan’s Central Bank is taking to aid in economic recovery, the ADP National Employment Report® for September (which you can access here) again raised concerns about the stability of our current economy and the pace of our recovery. The report notes that private-sector employment decreased in September by 39,000. While the prior seven months had gains in employment, at an average of only 34,000 jobs per month, the report states that there was no real momentum.
European and Asian markets were all up on Wednesday as the International Monetary Fund released their World Economic Outlook report (get the summary here) and noted that the likelihood of a global double dip is low, though the report did reduce its expectation for U.S. growth in 2011.
Stocks in the news: Massey Energy Co (NYSE: MEE), Salesforce com Inc (NYSE: CRM), Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM), General Electric Co (NYSE: GE).
