Money Daily Brief: US service sector expands
(Read article summary)Major Asian stock indexes fell on concerns about weak US labor markets.
• US service sector expands: For the first time in a year, more service firms are expanding than contracting. The ISM non-manufacturing index hit 50.9 percent in September, up from 48.4 percent in August, even though job losses as a whole spiked to 263,000 last month. Many analysts predicted a more modest rise to 50 percent.
• Jobs report fallout: Asian markets closed mostly down, chilled by Friday’s weak US unemployment report, which caused investors to question the strength and speed of the global economic recovery. Crude oil was trading down for a second day in a row on similar concerns. European stocks were up in late morning trading after three down sessions, buoyed by speculation that a forthcoming report would show US services industries stabilized.
