US Markets end lower on jobs data

Dow fell due to increase in jobless claims

 U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after a weak reading on the labor market dropped stocks through a key technical level, validating the worries of those who thought the recent rally was flimsy.

Major indexes were little changed for most of the day before the S&P 500 broke below 1,130, the high end of the summer's trading range. Investors had hoped that the level would hold despite low trading volume, which raised questions about the rally's stamina.

Thursday's volume was very light, with 7.21 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, far below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion shares.

"Market technicians had been very positive on our breaking out of that range, so falling back under it added to the decline we saw and accelerated our losses," said John Stoltzfus, senior market strategist at Ticonderoga Securities in New York. "I think there's a good chance we'll regain that level, but right now the glass appears half-empty."

Jobless claims unexpectedly rose in the latest week, a sign the labor market still faces headwinds. Existing-home sales rose in August, but from depressed levels .

"Weakness in housing and the labor market continues to create overhead for stocks and suggests that the size of the rally we've seen this month was probably unwarranted," said Len Blum, managing partner at Westwood Capital LLC in New York.

The S&P 500, coming into Thursday, had gained 8.1 percent for the month, and some traders noted potential profit-taking as the quarter-end approached.

Source http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Markets-end-lower-on-jobs-rb-1312350461.html?x=0&.v=16

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