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Thursday 9 March 2017 BUSINESS
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             Stock indexes end mostly lower as the price of oil plunges



            MARLEY JAY                                                                                                          makers  will  meet  next
            AP Markets Writer                                                                                                   week, and investors expect
            NEW  YORK  (AP)  —  U.S.                                                                                            the central bank to raise in-
            stocks fell for the third day                                                                                       terest rates for the first time
            in  a  row  as  energy  com-                                                                                        since  December.  Nixon
            panies tumbled along with                                                                                           says long-term bond yields
            the price of crude oil. Inves-                                                                                      could reach roughly 3 per-
            tors also sold high-dividend                                                                                        cent in a few months.
            stocks as bond yields rose,                                                                                         Stocks  that  pay  big  divi-
            giving investors other alter-                                                                                       dends  such  as  utilities  and
            natives for seeking income.                                                                                         real   estate   investment
            Crude  oil  prices  fell  5  per-                                                                                   trusts  are  often  compared
            cent,  their  biggest  drop  in                                                                                     to  bonds  because  of  their
            more than a year, after the                                                                                         hefty  payments  to  share-
            government reported a big                                                                                           holders.
            buildup in fuel stockpiles.                                                                                         High-dividend  companies
            A survey by a payroll com-                                                                                          also fall out of favor when
            pany  showed  that  private                                                                                         Wall  Street  expects  faster
            companies     added     the                                                                                         economic     growth.   Util-
            most  jobs  in  three  years  in                                                                                    ity holding company PG&E
            February,  a  sign  of  stron-                                                                                      gave  up  $1.10,  or  1.7  per-
            ger economic growth. That                                                                                           cent, to $65.16 and Realty
            helped  send  bond  prices                                                                                          Income  dropped  $2.14,  or
            lower  and  yields  higher.   Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. .S. stocks fell for the third day in a row   3.6 percent, to $57.70.
            The  report  showed  big  in-  as energy companies tumbled along with the price of crude oil.                       The Energy Information Ad-
            creases in construction and                                                                 (AP Photo/Richard Drew)  ministration said oil reserves
            manufacturing hiring.        bringing  on  more  workers,  The Standard & Poor’s 500  Private  businesses  added  grew by 8 million barrels last
            According to industry mea-   and  there  wasn’t  much  of  index  dipped  5.41  points,  298,000 jobs last month, ac-  week,  far  more  than  ana-
            surements    and   govern-   that until Wednesday.        or 0.2 percent, to 2,362.98.  cording  to  payroll  proces-  lysts expected. Benchmark
            ment data, manufacturing  “It’s not surprising that you  The  Dow  Jones  industrial  sor ADP. That came after a  U.S.  crude  sagged  $2.86,
            and  business  investment  would  start  to  see  the  hir-  average  lost  69.03  points,  slightly smaller gain in Janu-  or 5.4 percent, to $50.28 a
            have  improved  in  the  last  ing improve in that sector,”  or 0.3 percent, to 20,855.73.  ary.                    barrel in New York, its lowest
            few  months  after  a  steep  said  Katie  Nixon,  chief  in-  The  Nasdaq  composite  Bond  prices  dropped.  The  price since late November.
            slump.  However  investors  vestment  officer  for  North-  rose 3.62 points, or 0.1 per-  yield  on  the  10-year  Trea-  Brent  crude,  used  to  price
            have  longed  for  evidence  ern Trust. “It’s been a drag  cent, to 5,836.55 as health  sury  note  jumped  to  2.56  international  oils,  fell  $2.81,
            manufacturing  and  con-     on  economic  growth  the  care and technology com-       percent from 2.52 percent.   or  5  percent,  to  $53.11  a
            struction  companies  were  last couple of years.”        panies moved higher.         Federal  Reserve  policy-    barrel in London.q
             Survey: Private employers added robust 298K jobs last month



            C. S. RUGABER                found,  a  sign  that  hiring   February,  up  from  261,000  and  the  stock  market  has  now  expects  job  gains  of
            AP Economics Writer          may be accelerating from     the  previous  month.  The  reached  record  highs  in  250,000, up from 200,000.
            WASHINGTON       (AP)    —  last year’s modest levels.    gains  were  led  by  a  huge  anticipation  of  President  Other signs point toward a
            U.S.  businesses  added  the  Payroll  processor  ADP  said   66,000 increase in construc-  Donald  Trump’s  promised  healthy job market, Wiese-
            most jobs in three years last  Wednesday  that  business-  tion,  the  most  in  11  years,  tax  cuts  and  deregula-  man noted in an email. The
            month,  a  private  survey  es  added  298,000  jobs  in   and  32,000  manufacturing  tion.  Investors  are  also  op-  number of people seeking
                                                                      jobs, the most in five years.  timistic with more evidence  unemployment  benefits,  a
                                                                      The  hiring  boom  in  con-  emerging  of  economic  proxy for layoffs, has fallen
                                                                      struction  was  likely  driven  growth overseas, including  to  a  44-year  low.  And  sur-
                                                                      by  unseasonably  warm  Europe.                           veys of manufacturing and
                                                                      weather  in  much  of  the  The  ADP  covers  only  pri-  services  firms  in  the  past
                                                                      country.      Construction  vate  businesses  and  often  two  months  show  greater
                                                                      sites typically shut down in  diverges  from  official  fig-  interest in hiring.
                                                                      snow  or  freezing  weather.  ures.  Economists  forecast  The  government’s  Friday
                                                                      Still, job gains were broad-  that the government’s jobs  report will be the final ma-
                                                                      based and suggest that in-   report, due Friday, will show  jor  economic  data  that
                                                                      creased  business  optimism  an increase of 186,000, ac-  Federal Reserve officials will
                                                                      may have led to more hir-    cording  to  data  provider  see before their March 14-
                                                                      ing.  January  and  Febru-   FactSet.                     15 meeting, when they are
                                                                      ary’s  job  gains  are  above  In  recent  months,  after  a  widely  expected  to  raise
                                                                      last  year’s  average  of  change in ADP’s methodol-      short-term interest rates for
                                                                      about 185,000 per month.     ogy, its figures have gotten  only the third time in nearly
                                                                      “February proved to be an  closer to the government’s  a decade.
                                                                      incredibly strong month for  reported  data.  It  was  off  A  rate  hike  will  be  even
                                                                      employment with increases  just  9,000  in  January  and  more  likely  if  the  govern-
                                                                      we have not seen in years,”  8,000 the previous month.    ment’s data reflects strong
                                                                      said  Ahu  Yildirmaz,  vice  Some economists are revis-   hiring similar to the ADP re-
                                                                      president  and  co-head  of  ing higher their forecasts for  port. Many economists say
                                                                      the ADP Research Institute.  Friday’s  jobs  report  in  the  job  gains  would  have  to
                                                                      Measures of business confi-  wake  of  the  ADP  figures.  plummet to roughly 50,000
                                                                      dence have jumped since  Ted Wieseman, an econo-          or  less  to  give  the  Fed
                                                                      the  presidential  election  mist  at  Morgan  Stanley,  pause.q
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