Date:08/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/08/stories/2008030855171500.htm

Business

Stocks turn mixed in U.S.

NEW YORK: Stocks bounced on Friday after the government’s much-anticipated February employment report came in weaker than expected and after the Federal Reserve announced steps to aid the credit markets.

The Labor Department’s report that employers cut jobs by 63,000 last month — the most since March 2003 — unnerved investors worried about the health of the economy and who had been expecting a 25,000 gain in jobs.

The payroll numbers came minutes after the Federal Reserve announced it would take fresh steps to ease credit troubles, including boosting the amount of money it will auction to banks.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.06, or 0.13 per cent, to 12,025.33 after being down more than 100 points in the early going. — AP