The market kicked off the holiday-shortened week, closing in the red zone on Tuesday, as stocks traded lower on a variety of economic news. The ISM Manufacturing Index was surprisingly strong in August, rising to 61.3 from 58.1 in July, exceeding consensus expectations. With manufacturing doing well, the trade tensions haven’t made a significant impact yet. Wednesday’s results were again in the red with reductions in the Technology and Energy sectors offsetting modest upticks within the Consumer Staples and Utilities sectors. Of the major large-cap indexes, only the Dow Jones Industrial Average was able to spend time in positive ground during the session. By the closing bell, the blue-chip composite sat near its breakeven line. Indices ended trading mixed on Thursday. The Dow added slight gains while the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ Composite shed some points. Technology brands continued to decline on a variety of economic news. Initial jobless claims decreased last week, falling by 10,000 to 203,000 for the week ended September 1. Additionally, the ADP National Employment Report showed an addition of 163,000 private payrolls in August. The result was shy of an expected addition of 190,000. The markets were down again on Friday, as trade concerns outweighed respectable employment numbers for August. The Department of Labor reported U.S. non-farm payrolls ticked up by 201,000 last month. The results exceeded expectations, and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.9%. However, the positive employment situation was not enough to offset the news that more trade tariffs on China could be coming.
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