After an up and down day, stocks finished modestly lower on Friday.
The S&P 500 shed a couple of points at 2,356 and the Dow Jones fell 7 points to 20,656.
The day started nervously after the air strike by US forces on a Syrian air base, and took a turn for the worse with US jobs figures for March that were nowhere near as good as expected.
In the mid-session, however, share prices gravitated back towards ground zero, but concerns over the political fall-out from President Trump's Syrian policy were heightened again when the US ambassador to the UN said America is "prepared to do more" militarily in Syria.
Defense stocks did well in the aftermath of the Syrian attack and there was some evidence of investors seeking traditional haven stocks, although the most actively traded gold futures contract only rose 0.2%, or US$2.80, to US$1,256.10 an ounce, suggesting investors are not that worried about the Syrian situation spinning out of control.
13.40 ... Defense stocks wanted as indices move into positive territory
Stocks have moved into positive territory, shrugging off a nervous start.
The Dow Jones index was up 0.11% at 20,686, boosted by a strong showing by Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT), which was up 1.9% at US$72.80.
The S&P 500 had also dragged itself out of negative territory, rising 0.1% to 2,359, despite disappointing jobs data for March.
The air strikes on Syria have largely left sentiment unaffected, though providing it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good, defense-focused stocks such as L3 Technologies Inc (NYSE:LLL), General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD) and Raytheon Corp (NYSE:RTN) were all wanted, rising by around 1.5%.
10.40 ... Off to a rocky start after jobs figures disappoint
US stocks were largely in the red on Friday morning in the wake of the air strikes on Syrian and disappointing jobs data for March.
The Dow Jones index was down 11 at 20,653 and the S&P 500 was down just over a point at 2,356.
US non-farm payrolls rose 98,000 in March, which was the smallest monthly rise in almost a year, and well below the 185,000 analysts had expected.
There was better news on the unemployment rate, which fell to 4.5% from 4.7%.
“The retail trade sector stood out on the soft side, as payrolls fell 30,000 after a drop of 31,000 in the prior month. This area seems to have been affected by the shift to online shopping by individuals,” suggested Michael Moran at Daiwa Capital Markets.
“Although the payroll figure in total was poor, a few favorable elements might be noted. The mining and manufacturing industries posted respectable job gains. These sectors had been weak in the past two years, but they have shown signs of improvement recently. In addition, the business-services sector registered above-average job growth,” Moran noted.
Colfax Corporation (NYSE:CFX), a manufacturer of gas and fluid-handling and fabrication technology products and services, hardened 3.8% to US$40.17 after it said it expects another quarter of solid organic order growth in its gas and fluid handling segment.
For its fabrication technology division, Colfax expects a substantially more favorable organic revenue comparison to the prior year quarter than experienced in similar year-over-year comparisons for the third and fourth quarters of 2016.
Shares in Ruby Tuesday Inc (NYSE:RT) slumped 12% as the struggling restaurant chain reported its nineteenth straight quarter of revenue decline.
Born-again camera maker Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:KODK) fell 5.4% to US$10.975 after announcing a change in its reporting structure that coincided with the departure of Philip Cullimore as president of the Inkjet Systems division.
Market preview
Markets were set to react to the US air strike on Syria with relative equanimity until March’s jobs figures were released.
Spread betting quotes pointed to the benchmark S&P 500 opening just a couple of points down from last night’s close of 2,357 while the Dow was seen opening a mere six points down from yesterday’s end value of 20,663.
Cue the release of the jobs data, and the prognostications changed, with the S&P predicted to open four points lower and the Dow 45 points in the hole.
US non-farm payrolls rose 98,000 in March, which was the smallest monthly rise in almost a year, and well below the 185,000 analysts had expected.
There was better news on the unemployment rate, which fell to 4.5% from 4.7%.
“With interest rates hiked last month, and President Trump’s pledges to put jobs at the heart of his presidency, March’s drop in non-farm payroll will bring both surprise and concern, especially with price growth on the rise,” said Dennis de Jong of forex trading platform UFX.
“Uninterrupted jobs growth since last August, combined with rising inflation and accelerating wages, contributed to the rate increase at the most recent Fed meeting.
“The Fed has forecast two more rises in 2017, and while this will please savers, Trump will likely have to deal with the political fall-out as consumers begin to feel the pinch," de Jong said.
Meanwhile, oil stocks are expected to defy the market trend when trading starts in reaction to the US launch of 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase, which was in response to a chemical weapons attacks by Syria earlier in the week.
“Risk assets are understandably bid on the addition of a new dimension to geopolitical risk, but equities are far from suggesting panic just yet. Investors are perhaps taking solace from a willingness to intervene suggesting he's (Trump’s] not so inward looking, suggested mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets.