US markets fall on weak data, FTSE has best quarter

Today the world’s largest economy received a boost after the Commerce Department revealed that the US economy shrank at a far slower rate in the second quarter than previous estimates showed.

According to the Commerce Department, the US economy contracted by 0.7% between the April and June period rather than the 1% previously reported and far better than the 1.2% expected by Wall Street.

However, the news failed to boost US markets as the news was somewhat overshadowed after it was revealed that the US private sector axed 254,000 jobs during September.

While, this was better than the 277,000 jobs lost during the previous month, it was worse than Wall Street’s prediction of 210,000 job losses.

Furthermore, other weak data came from the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM’s) business barometer for Chicago, which showed a surprise fall this month.

The closely-watched ISM’s Chicago Purchasing Managers Index showed a surprise fall to 46 in September, analysts had expected a rise to 52.

Following the news, the Dow Jones lost 88 points to 9,655, while the Nasdaq fell 23 points to 2,101. The S&P’s 500 lost 12.5 points or 1.2% to 1,048.

However, across the Atlantic it was a different story with London’s FTSE 100 index experiencing its best ever quarter since it was established in 1984.

The FTSE closed today at 5133.9 points and has gained more than a fifth (21%) between the July and September period.

However, the index is still more than 5% down on its level just over a year ago prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

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