ETFs Flat Following Payroll, Manufacturing Data

Major indexes clawed back Wednesday afternoon from steep slides earlier in the session that were sparked by a weak jobs reports and lagging performance from the services sector. The see-saw movement left most exchange-traded funds close to flat.

Payroll processor Automatic Data Processing announced that non-farm private payrolls fell by a greater-than-expected 371,000 in July. The results were an improvement over June's decline of 473,000, but more than the estimated 350,000 job cuts of earlier projections. Still, the data indicates the pace of layoffs is easing somewhat.

The Institute for Supply Manufacturing said its July reading of its services index came in lower than expected at 46.4, down from 47.0 in June and short of the projected 48.0. The index, which measures all non-manufacturing activities, indicates the services sector is contracting.

But figures from the Commerce Department showed a better-than-expected rate for factory orders, which rose 0.4% in June, well ahead of Wall Street projections of a 0.8% decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 43 points at 9277. The Nasdaq declined 20 to 1992 and the S&P 500 slipped 4 points to 1002.

For a detailed rundown on Wednesday’s trading session see our market story. 

Among unleveraged ETFs, the iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund (ICF) continued to ride a wave of investor sentiment looking for a bottom in the property market, and rose 4.3%. The Regional Bank HOLDRS fund (RKH) rose 4.0% as financials held up in range-bound trading.

Concerns that China would tighten lending standards and squeeze that country's ongoing growth pushed shares of the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index fund (FXI) 2.3% lower. Fluctuating oil prices and weak results from key holding Baker Hughes (BHI) pushed the Oil Service HOLDRS fund (OIH) down 2.0%.

Launching Pad
Claymore Securities, recently acquired by Guggenheim Partners, a private institutional investment firm, wants to launch an all-caps China fund, according to a recent SEC filing. The Claymore/AlphaShares China All-Cap ETF would invest in public companies in mainland China. Claymore operates the the China Small Cap Index fund (HAO) and the China Real Estate fund (TAO).

Earnings and Conference Calls
Affiliated Computer Services, Air Methods, Alliant Energy, American Italian Pasta, Amtech Systems, Apollo Investment Corporation, Assured Guaranty, Assystem, Beazer Homes USA, Biovail, Blue Nile, California Pizza Kitchen, CBS, Celera, Comcast, Cooper Tire & Rubber, Crocs, Crown Media Holdings, Dana Holding, Dollar Tree Stores, El Paso, Emergent Biosolutions, EOG Resources, Frontier Oil, Frozen Food Express Industries, Gold Fields, Grubb & Ellis, Hansen Natural, Huntsman, IMAX, ImmunoGen, Integra LifeSciences, Kenneth Cole, KKR Financial Holdings, Lifetime Brands, Live Nation, Manulife Financial, MBIA, Microvision, Natural Resource Partners, Nuveen Investments, NVIDIA, Pioneer, Primedia, Princeton Review, Sapient, Silicon Graphics International, Sirius Satellite Radio, SkyWest, Smart Balance, Speedway Motorsports, Spheris, Swift Energy, Teradata, The Blackstone Group, The DIRECTV Group, The Knot, Tim Hortons, Unilever, VeriSign, W. P. Carey & Co., Warner Music Group, Weight Watchers International, Wendy's / Arby's Group, World Wrestling Entertainment

Economic Data
Chain Store Sales
Monster Employment Index
Jobless Claims 8:30 a.m.
RBC CASH Index 9:00 a.m.
EIA Natural Gas Report 10:30 a.m.
3-Month Bill Announcement 11:00 a.m.
6-Month Bill Announcement 11:00 a.m.
Treasury STRIPS 3:00 p.m.
Fed Balance Sheet 4:30 p.m.
Money Supply 4:30 p.m.

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Wednesday: