Market Slips on Jobs Data

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 4:51 pm EDT, Friday October 2, 2009

A worse-than-expected jobs report sent stocks lower, but it could have been a lot worse. From today's action, it seems the market still has some good support, despite the lackluster economic data the past few days. At this time, it appears the cash on the sidelines is waiting to pounce on the dips. But with the market down seven of the past nine sessions, we'll see if that sentiment lasts next week.

The Dialysis and Kidney Disease Stocks Index was the top performing tickerspy Index on the day, led by Dialysis Corp Of America (Nasdaq: DCAI - News) with a 16% gain.

Stocks dropped sharply at the open on the government's employment report but rebounded to briefly trade in the black before ending the day modestly lower. The Dow lost -22 points to close the week at 9,488. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was off by -9 points to close at 2,048, and the S&P 500 slipped by -5 points to end at 1,025. Oil fell by -87 cents, while gold added $3.60.

The September jobs report topped today's economic headlines, as the Labor Department reported that employers shed 263,000 jobs versus the 180,000 drop analysts had expected. Unemployment ticked up to 9.8% from 9.7% in August.

On the earnings front, shares of Accenture (NYSE: ACN - News) rose 2.7% despite weaker-than-expected sales, as the consulting and outsourcing firm raised its annual dividend from 50 cents to 75 cents. For fiscal Q3, the company earned $254.7 million, or 39 cents per share, down -41% from $434.8 million, or 67 cents per share, a year ago. Adjusted EPS came in at 63 cents, in line with estimates. Revenue dipped -14% to $5.15 billion, below the consensus of $5.44 billion. Looking forward, the company guided for fiscal year 2010 EPS of $2.64 to $2.72 on an implied revenue range of $20.93-$21.80 billion. Analysts were looking for EPS of $2.68 on sales of $21.99 billion. Forty-nine Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

Investment analysis and market index company MSCI (NYSE: MXB - News) announced fiscal Q3 earnings of $20.9 million, or 20 cents per share, up 11% from $18.9 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted EPS was 28 cents, a penny short of the Wall Street consensus. Revenue fell -1% to $108.9 million. The company's core retention rate fell to 69% from 92% a year ago. The stock fell -0.1%.

Shares of Education Management (Nasdaq: EDMC - News) soared in their debut, rising 20.9% on its first day of trading. The stock was priced at $18 yesterday, raising $360 million. The company, which provides on-campus and online education programs, said it would use the proceeds to pay down debt. For the year ended June 30th, the company generated $2.0 billion in revenue and a profit of $104.4 million.

In an interesting move, Botox maker Allergan (NYSE: AGN - News) is suing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over claims that a ban on off-label drug marketing to physicians violates its right to freedom of speech. Doctors are currently allowed to legally prescribe drugs for off-label use, but drug companies are prohibited from marketing the products to doctors for non-FDA approved uses. Allergan asserts it should be allowed to educate doctors about the risks and benefits of using treatments for unapproved purposes. "Our reason for seeking action now relates to the fact that we have recently been required by FDA to initiate a REMS (Risk and Mitigation) program for Botox to ensure that physicians are equipped to evaluate the risks and benefits of treatment," Allergan spokeswoman Caroline Van Hove said in a statement. The stock fell -1.8%. Twenty-six Pro investors counted the stock among their top-15 holdings at the start of Q3.

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