Indices closed the session with mixed moves on Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index closed with gains while the NASDAQ Composite shed some points. Overall, stocks gained on news that White House trade officials have reached an agreement with Canada to revamp NAFTA. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement removes tariff risks from around $1.2 trillion worth of goods each year. The Dow closed at a new all-time high on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 ended trading just below the flat line and the Nasdaq shed some points. Moves were mixed for the day on a variety of economic news, including a slip in Crude oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2%, settling at $75.14 a barrel. Indices closed in the green zone on Wednesday, with the Dow trading up to another new record level. Stocks stepped up amid the release of favorable employment data for September. According to Automatic Data Processing, the U.S. private sector added 230,000 jobs last month, versus economists’ expectations of 179,000. Equities declined sharply after the market opened on Thursday, but the afternoon recovery was not enough to close the day on a positive note. While the day’s loss was across the board, Technology and Healthcare sector stocks saw the largest declines. The major indices closed Friday’s trading session in the red zone on Friday. The U.S. economy added less jobs than expected in September according to Labor Department data. Non-farm payrolls only increased by 134,000, versus economist expectations of 184,000. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% for September, marking the lowest level since 1969, from 3.9%. On another note, the trade deficit widened in August, increasing $3.2 billion to $53.2 billion, while the goods deficit expanded by $3.6 billion. Economic news continues to be somewhat encouraging, making another Fed interest rate hike in December likely. Interest rates have been on the rise, pushing long-term bond prices lower.
