Economic Data Decidedly Mixed
Date: 9/1/2010
Wednesday brought with it a bag of mixed economic news, further muddying the waters for futures and options traders.

At the beginning of the day, payroll services firm ADP reported a surprise decline in private-sector employment. Companies shed 10,000 jobs in August, ADP said - but economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had been expecting the private sector to add 17,000 positions to their payrolls.

The jobs data - which comes in advance of the Labor Department's more widely watched employment figures - may suggest that the nation's economic troubles could be more prolonged than had been anticipated.

But the Institute for Supply Management, an industry group for purchasing managers, reported that manufacturing conditions unexpectedly improved last month. Economists had expected the ISM's market-conditions index to fall; it rose by nearly a percentage point.

The markets seized on the ISM's report. At midday, stocks were posting broad gains. Still, the consensus opinion is that, in the absence of strong private-sector job creation, the nation's economic picture won't improve materially. Despite Wednesday's equity rebounds, net short positions in stock futures may be warranted.