LONDON: US stocks closed little changed, erasing a rally of nearly 200 points for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as optimism over European Central Bank stimulus faded before the government’s monthly jobs report.
Equities ran out of steam in afternoon trading as investors turned their focus toward the August non-farm payrolls report and its potential impact on the Federal Reserve’s decision on whether to raise interest rates this month. Trading has continued to whipsawed as markets remain subject to sudden shifts in investor sentiment.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 per cent to 1951.13 at 4pm in New York, after rallying as much as 1.3 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 23.38 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 16,374.76 after rising as high as 16,550.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 per cent as Apple lost 1.8 per cent and biotechnology shares slumped.
“There’s going to be caution not only going into the jobs report but into the long weekend,” said Tim Ghriskey, who helps oversee $US1.5 billion including developing-nation stocks as managing director and chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. “Draghi threw a degree of caution on the markets, but now people are waiting for tomorrow, absolutely.”
