NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks are trading lower Friday morning as a three-day winning streak fades. Utility companies, one of the best-performing sectors this year, took the largest losses. The market is still on track for its third weekly gain in a row.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 38 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,906 as of 10:08 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed six points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,987. The Nasdaq composite lost 18 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,689. Stocks have ended higher the last two days after late-day rallies erased early losses.
JOBS REPORT: The Labor Department said employers added 242,000 jobs in February as construction, retail and health care companies kept hiring more workers. Consumer demand was solid, and the government also said employers hired more people in December and January than it had previously estimated. More people also looked for work. However, worker pay slipped last month after accelerating in January.
TAXED: H&R Block tumbled after its quarterly profit and revenue disappointed investors. The company said people are filing their taxes later and refunds are taking longer to process as efforts to fight tax fraud increase. The stock dropped $4.36, or 13.2 percent, to $28.54.
BIG SCREEN GETS BIGGER: AMC Theaters, owned by Wanda Group of China, is buying Carmike Cinemas for $1.1 billion. The deal will create the biggest movie theater chain in the world. Earlier this year, Wanda said it would buy Legendary Entertainment, a studio that co-financed movies including “Jurassic World” and “The Dark Knight.” Carmike climbed $3.97, or 15.8 percent, to $29.08.