The U.S. equity market is fluctuating between gains and losses in early trading today, with the Dow Jones currently up and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq currently down. The Dow Jones is up 0.03% to 10,947.90, the S&P 500 is down 0.12% to 1,159.33 and the Nasdaq is down 0.68% to 2,383.41.
Data from a report by ADP Employer Service released today showed, companies in the US cut around 39,000 jobs in September, following a 10,000 jobs gain reported in August. The 39,000 job cut in September is the biggest drop since January.
The US economy, which has been recovering at a very slow pace, suffered a setback after International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered the growth forecast for US. IMF said American economy has been affected by decline or lack of consumer spending, which has been restricted by unemployment. IMF revised its growth figures for the year from 3.3% in July to 2.6% and said the growth would further decline to 2.3% in 2011.
Hewlett Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), which early this year acquired mobile phone maker Palm in a $1.2 billion deal, today announced that it will introduce smartphones with Palm’s webOS operating system in 2011. Hewlett Packard shares are currently down 0.02% to $40.80.
General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) today said its $1.2 billion takeover offer for oil services company Wellstream was rejected by the company. GE’s offer of $1.2 billion or £755 million values Wellstream at £0.750 a share, substantially lower than its £0.780 closing price on Tuesday. General Electric shares are currently up 2.79% to $16.97.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.