Stocks End Week Lower As Tech Melts Down Despite Strong Alphabet Report

Stocks ended the week lower, with the Nasdaq index the clear laggard, as a number of well-known tech stocks felt the brunt of the market pullback. The week was bookended by a strong report Monday night from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), which still ended the week lower despite its better than expected earnings, and weak guidance Thursday evening from social media name LinkedIn (LNKD), which was severely punished by investors and analysts alike in the wake of its outlook.

MACRO NEWS: In the U.S., nonfarm payrolls rose 151,000 in January, versus expectations for an increase of 190,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, versus expectations for it to stay at 5.0%. Average hourly earnings climbed 0.5% month-over-month, versus the consensus forecast for them to rise 0.3%. The trade deficit widened 2.7% to $43.4B in December, as exports dipped 0.3% and imports rose 0.3%. Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers index for January dipped to 52.4 in the final January reading, down from the 52.7 flash reading and below the 52.6 reading that was expected. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for January came in at 48.2, below the 48.4 that analysts expected. Markit’s services PMI came in at 53.2, versus the consensus 53.7 forecast. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index came in at 53.5 for January, down from 55.3 in the previous month and below the 55.1 reading forecast by analysts. The Labor Department said that productivity fell at an annual rate of 3% in the fourth quarter, marking the biggest quarterly decline in nearly two years and worse than the expected decline of 2%. Labor costs rose 4.5% in the fourth quarter, versus expectations for an increase of 4.3%… In Asia, China’s National Development and Reform Commission set its economic growth projection range for this year at 6.5%-7%, noting that attempts to curb overcapacity will increase unemployment in provinces with high output of steel and coal. The Chinese government’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49.4 in January from 49.7 in December. The private Caixin manufacturing PMI edged up to 48.4 from 48.2 in the prior reading, but both figures still remain in contraction territory. The Caixin services PMI for China climbed to 52.4 in January from 50.2 in December, while Japan’s services PMI rose to 52.4 from 51.5 in the prior month… In Europe, Markit’s manufacturing PMI for the euro zone dropped to 52.3 from December’s 53.2, in-line with the earlier flash estimate. The European Commission lowered its 2016 economic growth forecast for the 19-nation single currency area to 1.7% from the 1.8% expansion the commission had forecast in November. The Bank of England also cut its economic growth forecasts, saying it now expects Britain’s economy to grow 2.2% this year and 2.3% next year, which is down from the 2.5% growth for 2016 and 2.6% in 2017 that it previously predicted. Additionally, the BoE maintained its bank rate and held the size of its asset purchase program steady.