Reuters: US Dollar Report: GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks dip on U.S. jobless data, debt rises

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GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks dip on U.S. jobless data, debt rises Mar 29th 2012, 16:06 Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:06pm EDT * Revised U.S. jobless data puts damper on growth outlook * Stocks fall on tarnished sentiment, safe-haven debt gains * Oil prices fall below $123 a barrel By Herbert Lash NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - A higher-than-expected number of Americans filing for U.S. jobless claims dampened investor sentiment on Thursday, keeping global stocks lower and raising the appeal of save-haven government debt. New U.S. claims for jobless benefits fell slightly last week, according to the Labor Department, but missed forecasts of a greater decline, while the prior week's number was revised up. After a period of improvement, some investors said the jobs numbers showed worrisome signs of stalling. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the lowest level since April 2008. A report on the Commerce Department's final estimate of gross domestic product showed that the economy expanded 3 percent in the fourth quarter, as expected. "The data today is evidence that we're not going to have the robust recovery we had been expecting. The economy is growing, and the labor market is healing, but both on a very slow basis," said Michael Yoshikami, chief executive officer at Destination Wealth Management in Walnut Creek, California. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 73.07 points, or 0.56 percent, at 13,053.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 11.72 points, or 0.83 percent, at 1,393.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 26.69 points, or 0.86 percent, at 3,078.27. European shares extended declines amid continued growth concerns and as technical pressure weighed on several major indexes. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European shares closed down 1.2 percent to a provisional 1,059.28, while the Euro STOXX 50 was down 1.7 percent. U.S. government debt prices rose, with benchmark yields hovering at two-week lows, after the jobless data undercut optimism that the employment picture was gaining traction. Nagging jitters about the euro zone's fiscal woes and a perception that the Federal Reserve might consider more stimulus to help the U.S. economy also revived bids ahead of a $29 billion auction of seven-year notes. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 10/32 in price to yield 2.16 percent. The dollar fell against the yen as investors poured money into safe-haven assets in the face of worries about the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis. The yen also got a boost from year-end repatriation flows, with many Japanese companies closing their fiscal year on March 31. The dollar fell 0.7 percent to 82.31 yen, according to Reuters data. The euro tumbled 1.0 percent to 109.20 yen , and against the dollar, the single currency fell 0.4 percent to $1.3266. Oil prices slipped below $123 a barrel as signs of slowing global economic growth and the prospect of a release of strategic oil reserves in the West overshadowed concerns about a loss of Iranian oil. Brent crude was down $1.30 at $122.86 a barrel. U.S. crude fell $2.02 to $103.39 a barrel. Pressure is mounting to tackle high fuel prices ahead of French elections. Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi also attacked high oil prices in a rare opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Wednesday. "The talk of a possible strategic oil reserve release by the U.S. and EU is another big effort to talk prices down," said David Morrison, a market analyst at financial services company GFT, adding the downward effect of last year's emergency release had only been temporary. Spot gold prices fell $11.99 to $1,649.50 an ounce. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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