US stocks closed a low volume session with minimal losses

US stocks closed mixed yesterday amid Fridays key jobs data and jump in crude oil price which kept the sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%. The Dow reached as much as 74.26 points at the days high and 104.45 points at the low. The S&P 500 index lost 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index eased 0.1%.

According to analysts the low volume of trade yesterday made most investors to proceed with caution. Edward Painvin, chief investment officer at Chase Investment Counsel, explained the rise in crude oil price to more than $100-a-barrel mark, also unnerved some investors. The last time continuous crude futures were above $100 a barrel was in May 2012. According to Painvin cited by Wall Street Journal the crude oil prices kept that high would effect negatively consumer discretionary stocks.

Investors are focused on the June employment report, which is expected to be the most important economic data this month as the Federal Reserve has said repeatedly the strength of the labor market is one of the determining factors of monetary policy. Economists are expecting non-farm payrolls to increase by 160,000 and the unemployment rate to tick down to 7.5.

Stoxx Europe 600 benchmark closed down 0.4%, this was seen as a revision as the index had gained 4.6% over the previous five sessions.

The European Unions official statistics agency said the euro zones unemployment rate for May was actually 12.2%, a record high, and not the 12.1% reported on Monday. Eurostat said it made an error in its calculation.

In corporate news, Zynga ZNGA gained after the company confirmed that its founder, Mark Pincus, was stepping down as chief executive, and would be succeeded by Don Mattrick, who was in lead of Microsofts Xbox game business. The stock surged 10% on Monday after AllThingsD, reported Mr. Mattrick could be named CEO.

Apple shares added 2.3% as Steven Milunovich, an analyst at UBS, raised the stock at buy putting a price target forecast of $500. “Currently the stock is recovering from an oversold reading. Further improvement depends on Apple recapturing smartphone mindshare and introducing new categories in 2014,” Milunovich said in a note cited by Wall Street Journal.

Constellation Brands Inc. the international producer of wine and beer, said its fiscal first-quarter earnings declined 27% due to restructuring costs. Shares of the company plunged 3.6%.

United States Steel Corp. shares jumped 8.3%, influenced by strong auto sales. Ford Motor Co. said U.S. sales increased 13% to in June comparing to last year. The result was the highest June result since 2006. General Motors Co. reported June sales added 6%, significantly better than forecast by industry experts. Ford shares closed up 2.8% and GM surged 0.3%.