* Jobless claims at almost a three-month low
* Higher dollar, weak commodities weigh on indexes
* Pepsi shares down after outlook trimmed
* Dow off 0.2 pct, S&P down 0.2 pct, Nasdaq up 0.1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close, changes byline)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Weak commodities and a firmer
dollar pressured U.S. stocks on Thursday as investors shunned
big bets before a jobs report that could determine the next
move from the Fed.
The dollar reversed a long downtrend, slamming oil and gold
markets, which in turn took a toll on energy and mining stocks.
Newmont Mining Corp <NEM.N> and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
<FCX.N> both fell more than 2 percent.
Investors said better-than-expected weekly jobless claims
limited declines, but the spotlight was on Friday's larger
non-farm payrolls report. For details, see []
Friday's report is expected to show payrolls were unchanged
in September, but the release has bigger implications for a
market hoping that weak data will spur the Federal Reserve to
take further steps to boost the economy.
"This one, unfortunately, gets into the realm of economic
psychology," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at
Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
"I think the market would appreciate (a number) that's a
little better, but that still allows the Fed to come in."
The euro's recent rally against the dollar stalled as
investors booked profits. The dollar and equities have had an
inverse relationship as investors take money out of stocks for
the perceived safety of the greenback.
Some lackluster earnings reports also weighed on the market
after PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> trimmed the top end of its earnings
forecast, while Marriott International Inc's <MAR.N> results
failed to beat high expectations. Pepsi was down 3 percent at
$66.10 and Marriott slid 5.8 percent to $35.67. []
[]
The Dow Jones industrial average <> dipped 19.07
points, or 0.17 percent, to 10,948.58. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> eased 1.91 points, or 0.16 percent, to
1,158.06. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 3.01
points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,383.67.
Last month, the Fed hinted at the possibility that it might
pump more cash into the U.S. economy, probably through buying
bonds, in an additional round of quantitative easing to bolster
the anemic recovery after the worst recession since the 1930s.
Growing conviction of further fuel from the Fed in part
helped the S&P 500 rally 8.8 percent in September.
While the overall payrolls number is not expected to
change, economists polled by Reuters forecast that
private-sector payrolls added 75,000 jobs in September. The
unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 9.7 percent from
9.6 percent in August. []
The materials sector was among the biggest drags on the S&P
500 as the price of gold retreated from a new record high and
oil fell nearly 2 percent, or $1.56, to settle at $81.67 a
barrel. The S&P's resource sector index <.GSPM> lost 0.9
percent, while Newmont Mining was down 2.6 percent at $63.03
and Freeport-McMoRan declined 2.4 percent to $91.40.
On the upside, Abercrombie & Fitch Co <ANF.N> jumped 8.9
percent to $42.03 and American Eagle Outfitters Inc <AEO.N>
climbed 8.1 percent to $16.23 as teen apparel retailers led the
pack with generally stronger-than-expected U.S. same-store
sales in September. []
About 7.10 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, below
last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of 8-to-7, while on the Nasdaq, about five stocks fell
for every four that rose.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr: Editing by Jan Paschal)
