U.S. stocks sagged Friday despite an employment report that many analysts believed was not too hot and not too cold. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 96.46, or 0.86%, to 11,120.04, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 22.15, or 0.94%, to 2,339.02. Crude oil futures traded down $0.55 to $67.39 a barrel. The big news of the day came from the Labor Department, which reported that the economy added 211,000 jobs in March, more than the estimates for a 190,000 gain. February's number, meanwhile, was revised downward by 18,000.
This data, however, was tempered by a 0.2% rise in hourly earnings that lagged estimates of 0.3%. In other economic news, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories rose 0.8% in February, up sharply from a 0.2% increase in January increase. Economists expected a 0.5% gain. A surge in bond yields, however, sent the benchmark 10-year close to 5% on Friday, sending capital flows out of equities and into the bond market.
Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were unchanged at $7.65 after the auto maker said President and Chief Operating Officer Jim Padilla is retiring after 40 years with the automaker. Chief Executive Bill Ford will assume his responsibilities.
After Thursday’s close, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) said same-store sales for March rose 10%, ahead of the 7.6% expected by Wall Street. Total sales for the period climbed 24% to $743 million. Starbucks stock added 1.8% at $38.13
WebMethods (NASDAQ: WEBM) shares surged 4% to $9.09 after the company raised its forecast for the fourth quarter. It now expects net earnings of $0.11 to $0.14 a share on revenue of $57 million to $59 million. The previous outlook was for a profit of $0.05 to $0.10 a share on total revenue of $52 million to $55 million.
Shares of U.S. Steel (NYSE: XSS) were upgraded to “hold” from “sell” at Deutsche Bank, which cited expectations that steel markets will remain strong throughout the year. Its stock edged $0.15 lower to $25.75.
Prudential Equity Group cut electric utility Consolidated Edison (NYSE: ED) to “underweight” from “neutral” weight and lowered its price target to $40, saying it believes the company is vulnerable to rising interest rates and equity dilution. Edison shares fell 1.7% to $42.43.
Small-cap movers on Friday included shares of Buca (NASDAQ: BUCA), which surged 19% a day after the restaurant owner said same-store sales at its restaurants rose 5.6% for the first quarter compared with the same period last year. Also, Ambassadors International (NASDAQ: AMIE) shares jumped 18% after the travel and event services firm reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Delta Queen Steamboat Co. On the downside, shares of SafeNet (NASDAQ: SFNT) sank 21% after the company said it expects first-quarter net earnings to come in below its previous forecast of $0.02 to $0.09 a share, and lowered its revenue outlook to $63 million to $65 million from its previous range of $65 million to $69 million.
In commodities trading, natural gas for May delivery ended at $6.743 per million British thermal units, down $0.229. Unleaded gasoline slipped $0.0231 to $1.9768 a gallon, while May heating oil was down 0.81 of a cent at $1.8826. The price of gold was off $7 at $592.70 an ounce. May silver surged 2.5 cents to $12.07. July platinum finished $19.80 lower at $1,077 an ounce, while June palladium lost $4.90 to $353.15. May copper, meanwhile, closed down 0.6 of a cent at $2.6405 a pound.
Profit Taking Hits TSX Toronto’s senior exchange dropped Friday as investors took some profits in resources and technology. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite was down 100 points, or 0.8%, at 12,241.19, while the TSX Venture Exchange moved 0.5 points higher to 3,037.37. Energy stocks slipped 1% as crude oil futures traded down $0.55 to US$67.39 a barrel. Gold shares, meanwhile, sagged 1.7% as the price of gold was off $7 at US$592.70 an ounce. Mining issues also fell more than 1.5%, while the financial sector was the lone gainer.
After Thursday’s close, Research in Motion (TSX: T.RIM) reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed estimates by $0.02 a share. RIM also forecast first-quarter per-share net earnings of US$0.60 to $0.65 and adjusted per-share earnings of $0.62 to $0.67 on revenue of $580 million to $610 million. Analysts expected first-quarter earnings of $0.76 a share on revenue of $625 million. RIM shares slipped 6% to $91.30 on Friday.
Hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management on Friday said it would not accept Sears Holdings Corp.'s (NASDAQ: SHLD) $18 a share offer to buy Sears Canada (TSX: T.SCC), calling it "wholly inadequate." Pershing said it owns about 5.2% of Sears Canada's outstanding common stock. Shares of Sears Canada edged $0.10 lower to $18.40.
Nortel Networks (TSX: T.NT) expects to make decisions about whether to exit, sell or create a partnership in about three or four areas of its business in the near future, Chief Executive Mike Zafirovski said late Thursday. The company also said that a restatement to correct revenue recognition mistakes is expected to be bigger than it previously forecast. Nortel stock was down 1.7% to $3.46.
Cameco (TSX: T.CCO) shares fell 5% to $43 on word that water leaked into a shaft at its Cigar Lake uranium project in Saskatchewan, which may delay production by six months.
Shares of Lorus Therapeutics (TSX: T.LOR) were off 1.4% at $0.37 after the anti-cancer drug developer cut its third-quarter loss to $4.1 million from a year-earlier $5.3 million on lower spending.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said on Friday that Canada's unemployment rate fell to a 32-year low of 6.3% in March from 6.4% in February, and the tight labor market pushed wages higher. The Canadian dollar was at US$0.8717, up 0.47 of a cent.
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