Crude oil pared some of yesterday’ s 5.9 percent gain after the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc.’ s business barometer trailed economists’ estimates. Companies in the U.S. cut payrolls by a greater-than-forecast 254,000 jobs, a report from ADP Employer Services showed, indicating the labor market will be slow to recover.
U.S. stocks fell after the business activity report. The Standard & Poor’ s 500 Index lost 0.3 percent to 1,057.08 in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 29.92 points, 0.3 percent, to 9,712.28. The dollar traded at $1.4654 versus the euro at 8:55 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.4640 in New York yesterday.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.7 percent to 10,061.41 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index fell 0.6 percent to 904.30. Australia’ s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 4.1 points at 10:29 a.m. Sydney time.
Oil gained yesterday after the Energy Department report showed an unexpected decline in supplies of gasoline. Stockpiles of the motor fuel fell 1.66 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 25, the report said. Inventories were forecast to gain 1 million barrels, according to the median of estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Brent crude oil for November settlement dropped 17 cents to $68.90 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 10.15 a.m. Sydney time. Yesterday, the contract rose $3.58, or 5.5 percent, to settle at $69.07.
