Dow Falls 34 Ahead of Jobs Data

Stocks fell today as traders lost some of yesterday’s confidence ahead of looming job reports. ADP will release its September survey tomorrow, with weekly data due Thursday and the government’s nonfarm payrolls report coming Friday. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which analysts had been expecting to rise,  fell in September. The Dow dropped 47.16 points to 9,742.20. The Nasdaq lost 6.70, settling at 2,124.04, and the S&P 500 dropped 2.37 to close at 1,060.61, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Despite the day's drop, the Dow is still on track for a 16% quarterly gain, the best since 2008. (More Dow Jones stories.)