Stocks hold steady on jobs and oil

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were swaying between minor gains and losses Thursday as investors digested a slightly worse-than-expected weekly jobless claims report and a notable jump in oil prices.

About 2 hours into the session, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 3 points, or less than 0.1%; the S&P 500 (SPX) index was down 1.5 points, or 0.1%; and Nasdaq (COMP) composite lost points, or 0.1%.

Two big gainers on the Dow higher were the oil companies Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), following a 2% jump in crude prices.

The job market was once again in focus. The government’s weekly jobless claims report showed a decline of 6,000 claims to 388,000 in the week ended March 26. The figure was higher than the 383,000 that economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected.

The report foreshadows tomorrow’s closely watched government jobs report. A CNNMoney survey of 18 economists is forecasting a 180,000 jump in payrolls for March. They also expect the unemployment rate to hold steady at 8.9%.

Dick Del Bello, senior partner with Conifer Group, a hedge fund service provider, said investors are relatively optimistic about the job market, but frustrated with its slow recovery.

“I think the anticipation is that the job market is improving,” he said. “It’s slow, but it’s improving. I think everyone would like to see it happen faster, but it’s not going to happen.”

For stocks to make substantial gains, “we’ll need to start seeing consistent signs of job creation,” said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities.

Ongoing debt concerns in Europe as investors await the results of bank stress tests in Ireland are another question mark for the market. On Thursday, Anglo Irish Bank announced a $25.2 billion loss, with its stress test results due later in the day.

Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, the DAX in Germany rose 0.2%, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.3%.

U.S. stocks ended Wednesday with solid gains, after two upbeat reports on job growth. One report from outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said private employers announced fewer planned job cuts in March — even as government layoffs mounted.

A second report, from payroll processor ADP, showed private sector employment rose by 201,000 in March. Investors view the ADP report as a guide for what’s coming in Friday’s employment report from the Labor Department.

Economy: The Chicago-area purchasing managers’ index for March fell to a reading of 70.6 compared to February’s reading of 71.2. Economists were looking for a reading of 68.9.

The Commerce Department said factory orders fell by 0.1% in February; economists had expected a 0.4% rise.

Companies: Shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) fell 1.4% on Thursday after Buffett’s heir apparent, David Sokol, quit. In a press release Wednesday, Buffett said the resignation was a “total surprise,” but he also revealed that Sokol had purchased shares of Lubrizol (LZ, Fortune 500) before pushing him to buy the company in March for $9.7 billion.

World markets: Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.9%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ticked up 0.3% and Japan’s Nikkei added nearly 0.5%.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, in China for a meeting of G-20 finance ministers, said developing nations need flexible exchange rates to help absorb economic shocks. His comments came a day after criticism of U.S. monetary policy by a Chinese economist.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen but was flat versus the British pound.

Oil for May delivery gained $2.12 to $106.40 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $12.40 to $1,436.70 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged slightly higher, pushing the yield down to 3.44% from 3.45% late Wednesday.  

First Published: March 31, 2011: 9:46 AM ET