Following weak jobs report, Syria strikes, stocks stand still

NEW YORK >> U.S. stocks never got going Friday after a slightly disappointing jobs report and word of U.S. missile strikes against Syria. Investors bought shares of defense contractors and stocks that are traditionally considered safe.

Stocks moved between gains and losses all morning after the Labor Department said employers didn’t add as many jobs as analysts had forecast. They started to rise in afternoon trading, but those gains didn’t last. Investors bought high-dividend stocks like real estate investment trusts and household goods makers, but banks and energy companies fell.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 slid 1.95 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,355.54. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 6.85 points to 20,656.10. The Nasdaq composite dipped 1.14 points to 5,877.71. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks inched up 0.14 points to 1,364.56.

The government said employers added 98,000 jobs in March, which was weaker than the last few months and about half as many as analysts had predicted. One-time factors including snowstorms may have temporarily slowed hiring. The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent, its lowest level since 2007, as more people found work.

Over the last three months, employers had added an average of 178,000 jobs a month. That’s just a bit slower than the monthly average from 2016.

Overnight, the U.S. launched a missile attack on a Syrian air force base following a chemical weapons strike blamed on the government of President Bashar Assad earlier in the week. The move was condemned by Russia and Iran. The VIX, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” started rising late Thursday as the U.S. government shifted its policy on Syria.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.38 percent from 2.34 percent.

Still, the increased geopolitical uncertainty sent defense stocks higher. Raytheon added $2.21, or 1.5 percent, to $152.96 and Lockheed Martin rose $3.12, or 1.2 percent, to $270.23.

Among high-dividend stocks, Wal-Mart gained $1.47, or 2.1 percent, to $72.90 and Prologis rose 52 cents, or 1 percent, to $53.58.

The military strikes in the Middle East sent crude prices higher. U.S. oil added 54 cents, or 1 percent, to $52.24 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for international oil prices, rose 35 cents to $55.24 a barrel in London.

Twenty-First Century Fox declined for the fifth day in a row as advertisers continued to pull their ads from “The O’Reilly Factor.” Less than a week ago, the New York Times reported that Fox News and Bill O’Reilly, the network’s most popular prime-time host, have paid $13 million to five women to settle allegations of sexual misconduct. Kantar Media says the show brought in more than $100 million in advertising revenue in 2016. The stock lost 5 cents to $31.07 and fell 4.1 percent this week.

Wells Fargo dipped after an influential firm that advises big shareholders says most of its board of directors should be removed. Institutional Shareholder Services said the board isn’t doing enough to oversee the bank’s sales practices.