After showing a notable move to the downside earlier in the session, stocks have regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Monday. Nonetheless, lingering concerns about the economic outlook have kept buying interest subdued.
The major averages are currently posting modest losses, well off their worst levels of the day. The Dow is down 14.42 points or 0.1 percent at 12,136.84, the Nasdaq is down 5.50 points or 2,727.28 and the S&P 500 is down 4.24 points or 0.3 percent at 1,295.92.
Continued worries about the implications of last week's much weaker than expected employment report contributed to the early selling pressure on Wall Street, with traders expressing concerns about a soft patch for the economy and the possibility of a double-dip recession.
The monthly employment report released by the Labor Department last Friday showed that employment increase by much less than expected in May. The report also showed an unexpected uptick by the unemployment rate during the month.
With no major economic scheduled to be released today, the disappointing jobs data has remained at the front of traders' minds.
The economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the remainder of the week as well, although traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims, the U.S. trade deficit, and wholesale inventories.
Meanwhile, shares of Apple (AAPL) are trading modestly higher as the iPod and iPhone maker kicks off its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who is on a medical leave of absence, is set to make a rare appearance and deliver the keynote address.
In its quest to climb on to the "cloud computing" bandwagon, Apple is set to unveil its own cloud application, the "iCloud", at the conference.
Sector News
While most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves, notable weakness remains visible among healthcare provider stocks. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider Index is down by 1.6 percent after hitting its worst intraday level in over three months.
Sunrise Senior Living (SRZ) is turning in one of the healthcare provider sector's worst performances, with the senior living services provider currently down by 4.6 percent. Earlier in the session, Sunrise Senior Living hit a nearly four-month intraday low.
Electronic storage stocks are also seeing continued weakness, resulting in a 2 percent loss by the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index. Hutchinson Technology (HTCH) is helping to lead the storage sector lower, falling by 4.7 percent.
Health insurance, oil service, and airline stocks also continue to see considerable weakness, although selling pressure has waned from earlier in the day. On the other hand, modest strength has emerged among railroad and defense stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region ended mostly lower on Monday, although several markets in the region were closed for public holidays. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 1.2 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index slid by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index close down by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness on the day, partly offsetting their recent gains. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.4 basis points at 3.031 percent.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.