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US stocks closed mixed Friday as the investors were held back by the weaker-than-expected employment report and the latest developments of US-led forces near Baghdad.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 36.77, or 0.5 percent, to 8,277.15 following the decline of 44 points for Thursday.
The broader market closed mixed. The Nasdaq composite index fell 13.07 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,383.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 878.85.
The US-led forces edged closer to Baghdad after taking control of Saddam International Airport, only nine miles away from Iraqi capital. The US Central Command said about 2,500 Iraqi elite Republic Guards surrendered.
However, the economic reports held the market back. US Labor Department said American firms had cut 108,000 jobs in March, which was more than analysts' expected and indicated the overall civilian unemployment rate being held stead at 5.8 percent.
PeopleSoft fell 1.48 dollars to 15.02 dollars, Affymetrix sank 9.67 dollars to 18.33 dollars, and Altria lost 1.40 dollars to 28.30 dollars. However, Research in Motion edged up 42 cents to 14.88dollars.
The NYSE composite index rose 27.76 points to 4,898.05 points, while the American Stock Exchange index fell 6.36 points to 820.00points and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies dropped 1.94 points to 373.28 points.
Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners 5 to 4, with 1,762 stocks up, 1,438 stocks down and 186 stocks unchanged.
The NYSE trading volume stood at 1.23 billion shares, compared with 1.35 billion traded Thursday.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2003)
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