Stocks Ended Mixed, Eyed on Jobs Data

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors waited for the monthly U.S. jobs report and the start of earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 12.69 points, or 0.08%, to 16,272.01. The S&P 500 was up 3.79 points, or 0.20% to 1,923.82. The Nasdaq Composite gained 6.92 points, or 0.15%, to 4,627.08.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index dropped to 50.2% last month from 51.1% in August,
reflecting a stronger dollar and weaker global economy that hampering U.S. exports of many major American-made goods.

Ford’s U.S. sales grew 23 percent in September, Nissan surged 18 percent and Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. sales jumped nearly 14
percent. Sales at General Motors rose 12 percent, while Toyota posted a 16 percent gain. Honda’s sales were up 13 percent.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) revealed Thursday that it plans to cut 5% of its workforce in a restructuring. The Silicon
Valley chipmaker did not reveal the total number of jobs it will look to cut, but AMD reported a total employee count of
9,700 in its most recent annual report, which would mean nearly 500 jobs are on the chopping block.

Oil prices fell as much as 1 percent on Thursday as the government’s storm monitor altered forecasts for the path of the
latest U.S. hurricane. U.S. crude was down 15 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $44.94. At its session high, it had been up more
than $2 or 4 percent.