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Thursday 9 March 2017 BUSINESS
A24

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