Daily Market Recap -
(Select another date to see market comments for that day.)
Updated Each Business Day at Approximately 4:30 pm ET
Investors overlooked weak employment data and pushed the major indices higher for the session; however, stocks suffered significant losses for the week. August's unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent, well above estimates of 5.8 percent and its highest rate in about five years. Non-farm payrolls fell 84,000. The financial and technology sectors provided the upside leadership. Though all the news in techland was not favorable with Nokia lowering its third quarter market device share estimates. Its stock sank 7.5 percent on the news to hit a new 52-week low. Merrill Lynch overcame a ratings downgrade to close nearly 2 percent higher. There were two big potential deals making headlines. Samsung said it may be interested in acquiring SanDisk. Altria is reportedly in advance talks to buy UST for more than $10 billion.

The Dow pushed 32 points higher to 11221. JP Morgan and Bank of America put in the best performance for the index. JP Morgan gained $1.69 to $39.60 and B of A climbed $1.63 to $32.23. Chevron Texaco and United Technologies lagged with losses of $1.00 and 80 cents, respectively. The NASDAQ eased 3 points to 2255. S&P 500 recouped 5 points to end the day at 1242. The Dow Utility Index lost 8 points to close at 448 and the Dow Transports shed 26 points to 4888. The small caps of the Russell 2000 inched fractionally higher to 718.

Volume was strong with nearly 1.2 billion shares trading hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 927 million being traded on the NASDAQ. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers nearly equaled decliners. On the NASDAQ, losers were slightly more prevalent than winners. Gold rose $2.75 to end at $808.50 per ounce. Oil continued its downward trajectory, falling $1.66 to end at $106.23 per barrel.

US Treasury securities fell across the board following yesterday's rally. Closing yields were: 1.65 percent for the 90-day bill, 2.91 percent for the 5-year note, 3.65 percent for the 10-year note and 4.27 percent for the 30-year bond. Next week investors can look forward to July's wholesale inventories and trade balance as well as August's trade data, federal budget and retail sales. Have a great weekend! Dendra Lambert