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NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks wavered and closed lower this week, as investors digested the newly-released jobs report that missed market expectations and remarks from the U.S. Federal Reserve officials.
For the week, the blue-chip Dow lost 0.37 percent, and the broader S&P 500 decreased 0.67 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.37 percent.
U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in September, lower than the market estimates of 176,000, and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 5 percent, according to the Labor Department Friday.
Traders kept a close eye on the key nonfarm jobs report for more clues on the central bank's next move.
"Job growth was strong enough to justify a rate hike, but the logic of rate hikes is to slow the economy enough to prevent job growth from exceeding labor force growth," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, Friday.
Analysts said the employment report for September came at a crucial time, with the presidential election and Fed's next meeting just weeks away.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 4.98 percent to end at 13.48 on Friday.
Meanwhile, Wall Street focused on Fed speakers for more indications on the timing of next interest rate hikes.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told CNBC Friday that the jobs report was "solid," adding it's time for the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates.
Some Fed officials said earlier this week that the central bank should not delay rates hikes.
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, a non-voting member of the Fed's policymaking committee, said there was a strong case to raise interest rates.
On other economic news, initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits declined 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 249,000 for the week ended Oct. 1, lower than market consensus of 256,000, said the Labor Department on Thursday.
The Non-Manufacturing Index, which measures activity in the U.S. service sector, registered 57.1 percent in September, 5.7 percentage points higher than the August reading and well above market consensus of 52.9, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said in its monthly survey Wednesday.
"While the September rebound is a welcome sign and quells some concerns the economy is heading quickly into a soft path, it is important the strength carry through to Q4. Recent averages - on a 3-month to 6-month look back - all are moving sideways," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial.
U.S. new orders for manufactured goods in August increased 0.7 billion U.S. dollars or 0.2 percent to 453.1 billion dollars, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Analysts had expected a 0.2-percent decline.
U.S. private sector employment increased by 154,000 jobs from August to September, missing market expectations, said the September ADP National Employment Report Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell slightly from August's reading of 52.0 to 51.5 in September, the weakest improvement in overall business conditions since June.
The September purchasing managers' index registered 51.5 percent, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the August reading of 49.4 percent, according to the ISM earlier this week.
In corporate news, investors still awaited news on Deutsche Bank' s settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Deutsche Bank' s U.S.-listed shares ticked up0.81 percent on Friday.
Shares of the German lender have seen a roller-coaster ride recently after Bloomberg reported that a group of hedge funds were reducing their exposure to the bank.
