Wall Street mixed ahead of nonfarm payrolls; Dow made new record highs

Wall Street was mixed at the start of the month, although while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ dropped, the Dow Jones actually finished at a record.

Data was light, although the US ISM manufacturing survey rose from 51.9 to 53.2 (52.5 expected). Analysts at Westpac explained that producer sentiment has been boosted by oil prices and inventories are becoming less of a drag. "Markit’s PMI was revised higher from 53.9 to 54.1. Construction spending rose 0.5% in Oct (0.6% expected), which follows a strong Q3. Jobless claims rose from 251k to 268k (253k expected) during a holiday-disrupted period."

In  respect of the three benchmarks, the Nasdaq ended up dropping 72 points, or 1.4%, at 5,251, while the S&P 500 index dropped around 7 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,191. The Dow edned 68 points higher, or 0.4%, at 19,191 and finished at anew all-time closing high. We now look ahead to tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls. "US nonfarm payrolls should rise 170k in Nov following a 161k gain in Oct (consensus is +180k), esplained the analysts at Westpac, "The unemployment rate is likely to be unchanged on stable participation. ADP data points to modest upside risks."