Stocks: Jobs, manufacturing and autos in focus

Cliff Wachtel submits: The monthly US Non-Farms payroll change is one of the most widely anticipated reports of the month and carries some of the highest market moving potential. Jobs and consumer spending are the Fed’s most watched metrics for setting policy.

The stock market showed again yesterday how non-efficient it can be at times. Several stocks fell to pennies a share for awhile before returning to tens of a dollars a share. While the markets continue to react violently, the economy appears to be gaining more strength.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy posted a moderate pace of growth between late February and early April, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, supported by rising home prices and stronger factory activity. The account by the Fed’s 12 regional banks was a bit more upbeat than the previous Beige Book survey, with Dallas and New York noting a slight acceleration in the pace of expansion, while five saw growth as moderate, and the other five as modest.

Cliff Wachtel submits: Quick Review of Last Week: Primary market moving events included:

Stocks tanked early in the trading session after a disappointing jobs report.  But they slashed those losses. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,565, -40.8 pts, -0.2 percentS&P 500: 1,553, -6.7 pts, -0.4 percentNASDAQ: 3,203, -21.1 pts, -0.6 percent And now the top stories:

By Julie Y:November's jobs report was more positive than expected for most sectors but a decline in manufacturing employment following a weak October manufacturing output report and a contracting November ISM PMI reading pushed manufacturing stocks down, with the greatest effect on the Dow Jones' Basic Materials sector.

A day after hitting an all-time high, stocks took a beating thanks to some ugly economic news. First the scoreboard: Dow: 14,691, -148.0 pts, -1.0%S&P 500: 1,581, -15.6 pts, -0.9%NASDAQ: 3,296, -31.5 pts, -0.9% And now the top stories: