Jobs data and stocks news sent U.S. equities into positive territory for a third consecutive day. The ADP private sector jobs report came in above expectations which, coupled with speculation on Apple’s iPad minis and a big deal between T-Mobile and MetroPCS helped stocks rally; oil continued to slide while gold was marginally up. Hewlett-Packard made headlines as well, posting weak profit forecast as CEO Meg Whitman tries to turn the company around.
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed the day in positive territory. The Nasdaq was the day’s winner, rising 0.5% to 3,135 points, followed by the S&P 500 which gained 0.4% to 1,451; the Dow closed up 0.1% to 13,495.
The ADP Employment Report kicked things off. The private sector added 162,000 jobs in September, below the downwardly revised August figure of 189,000. Still, the report beat the consensus forecast among economists, as my colleague Abram Brown reported, which called for 140,000 private sector payrolls.
As equity traders digested the better than expected report, which comes ahead of the all-important BLS non-farm payrolls number on Friday, news of a big deal in the telecommunications moved the markets. Deutsche Telekom, owner of T-Mobile USA,announced that it was in advanced negotiations with MetroPCS. Looking to complete a merger, the third largest carrier in the U.S., which doesn’t have selling rights for Apple’s iPhone, is back at it after a failed deal with AT&T last year that was blocked by regulators. Shares in MetroPCS were down 10% to $12.22.
Speaking of Apple, the maker of the iPhone was once again trending higher as news that production of its controversial iPad mini was leaked by component makers. Amid disputes whether the late Steve Jobs would have approved of the product,WSJ.com reported that LG Display and AU Optronics began mass production of what will be the 7.85-inch liquid crystal display. Share in Apple were up 1.5% to $671.32.
The day’s big loser was Hewlett-Packard. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has been at the helm of the company since 2011 and has struggled to turn the company around; the stock is down more than 20% over the last 12 months. Meeting with analysts and investors, Whitman noted it was going to take her a lot longer to fix the company than she originally thought, calling HP “bloated.” Shares in HP fell 13% to $14.90.
In earnings news, Monsanto posted fourth quarter results that not only revealed a loss, but a wider-than-expected loss. The seeds and genomics giant suffered a net loss $229 million, or 44 cents per share including restructuring charges; analysts expected 42 cents. Revenue fell 6.1% to $2.1 billion. The stock was down 2.2% to $88.59.
In the commodities complex, gold was up and oil was down. So-called black gold, crude oil, fell 4.3% in New York $87.97 per barrel amid weak global demand, while gold bullion gained 0.3% to $1,781 per ounce.
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