US stocks turned positive despite NFP, USD steady

FXStreet (Córdoba) - Equities in the US erased losses and turned positive while European markets finished mixed. The FTSE 100 lost 0.33%, the Dax climbed 0.23% and the Cac 40 declined 0.20%. In Wall Street main indexes were rising modestly, Dow Jones 0.23%, Nasda 0.13% and S&P 500 0.27%, after starting the day in negative ground.

The employment report in the US showed that the economy created 142,000 jobs, the smallest number since December and below the 225.000 analysts were expecting.

“Another disappointed labour market report, with a marked deceleration in the pace of job creations, a decline in the labour participation ratio and no acceleration in wage growth. This kind of development will not be able to correct the high level of underemployment. Whether this low participation to employment is the new normal is open to debate: the Fed won’t risk a move”, summarized Alexandra Estiot, Senior Economist at BNP Paribas.

Greenback fell modestly after the report that did not affect stocks. Weak data could pushed forward the moment when the FED starts raising rates, favoring risk appetite. The best performers were so far the yen, the kiwi and the aussie while European currencies remained limited, near weekly lows across the board.

Gold was marginally up, but off session highs. After jobs numbers climbed to $1,274/oz but then bounced back. A cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels and USD strength capped the upside. Crude oil was falling more than 1%, tarding below $93.50.