Wall Street markets remain flat as jobs report looms

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Wall Street markets remain flat as jobs report looms

In the final trading session of the week, the markets were flat due to concerns that the economic recovery would be slowing in recent days. A rapid increase in Covid - 19 cases has added to concerns, too.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the Biden administration, said recently that he didn't believe the U.S. would return to lockdowns but warned that things are going to get worse as the more contagious Delta variant of Covid 19 spreads.

Wall Street's benchmark index gained after investors were encouraged Thursday by the decline in unemployment claims. They were watching for Friday's monthly employment report for an indication of how renewed disease flareups and new anti-disease curbs might affect hiring and wages.

The jobs report will be the key highlight to end the week amid conflicting market indicators which put more uncertainty on whether hiring expectations can be met, said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 4,429. 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8% to 35,064. 25. The Nasdaq is up 0.8% to 14,895; 14.

Stocks in tech, retailing and consumer markets rose. Banks gained more profits as bond yields rose, giving them more room to charge more for loans. Health care and material stocks fell.

On Thursday, Labor Department reported that the unemployment claim was dropped from last week to 14,000, adding to hopes for recovery in the labor market. Those came after a weak report from payroll processor ADP on Wednesday showing the private sector added jobs at a slower pace than expected in July.

As investor stocks fell wednesday after Wall Street was higher on Thursday as investors waited for U.S. Job data to see how coronavirus flareups affect the biggest global economy.

Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while falling behind Tokyo. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5% to 3,449. 85 while the Hang Seng fell in Hong Kong to 2,206. 75. Chinese stocks have been hurt by a spate of data security issues launched in Beijing against tech companies.

The NikkeiNikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.3% to 27.819. 20 after Japanese labor cash earnings edged lower for the first time in three months in June 2016.

The Kospi was lost to 3,265. 74 to Seoul and the ASX-S P 200 at Sydney was little-changed to 7,513. 20.

The Indian Sensex opened up 0.1% to 54,540.97. New Zealand, Bangkok and Jakarta advanced while Singapore declined.

In the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark U.S. crude sank to $69.23 per barrel during electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 94 cents on Thursday to $69.09; the contract price was set at $79.45. Brent Crude Oil, the price basis for international oils, gained 16 cents to $71.45 per barrel in London. It doubled 91 cents in the previous session to $71.29.

The dollar fell to 109.82 yen from the trading high of 109.76 yen on Thursday. The euro fell to $1.1826 from $1.1836, the euro fell to $1.1826