Stocks lower as investors digest new data

By msnbc.com news services

Stocks fell in volatile trading Thursday as investors scrambled to digest a slew of economic data and following moves by global central banks to provide further monetary stimulus.

Data showed U.S. private employers added 176,000 jobs in June, beating economists' expectations. Separate data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week fell by the most in two months.

China's central bank cut interest rates for the second time in two months on Thursday, in the latest attempt to bolster slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy. Benchmark lending rates will be cut by 31 basis points to 6 percent, and deposit rates will be reduced by 25 basis points to 3 percent.

But market reaction to further monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England was not that positive.

"We've now seen two jobs reports today that were pleasantly surprising ahead of tomorrow's June payroll figure. The markets' response, though, is muted as policy actions by the central banks weren't unexpected and maybe decent U.S. jobs data won't compel the Fed to do more QE," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

As expected, the ECB cut its main interest rate to a record low of 0.75 percent and its deposit rate to zero, while the BoE launched a third round of monetary stimulus, saying it would restart its printing presses and make 50 billion pounds of asset purchases with newly created money to help the economy out of recession.

Costco and other retail chains on Thursday reported June sales that missed Wall Street's already lowered expectations as persistently high unemployment and falling consumer confidence took a toll on spending.

Stocks, closed for Independence Day on Wednesday, had rallied in the previous three sessions, as sharp gains in oil prices lifted energy shares and traders factored in increased expectations for central bank stimulus.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/05/12578314-stocks-lower-as-investors-digest-new-data?lite

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