US shares end decrease; Dow drops for sixth straight day

Insurer Allstate fell 10.2 per cent after a rise in payments for auto accidents dented second-quarter earnings, while handbag and accessories retailer Coach rose 3.2 per cent after reporting better-than-expected results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 189.9 points or 1.1% in normal trading to end at 17,630.27 with about 27 of its 30 components finishing higher.

JOBS: U.S. employers added a solid 215,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department said Friday, another signal that the job market is steadily improving and providing another key piece of data for the Fed as it assesses whether the U.S. economy can withstand higher interest rates.

The Dow Jones was down 122 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,290 as of 12:50 p.m. Eastern. The index was down as many as 178 points during the session, The S&P 500 Index shed 16.28 points, or 0.8%, to close at 2,083.56, bouncing back from a 25-point loss. However, the government upgraded its estimate for June to 231,000 from 223,000. The firm was founded in 1985 and is based in New York, New York. It projected flat-to-one percent growth in sales in fiscal 2016.

The S&P 500 index is up 24.66 points, or 1.2 per cent.

Oil prices fell again, bringing the price of U.S. crude down to its lowest level since March.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.15 percent from 2.19 percent Friday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.86 percent from 2.91 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 307.49 points, or 6.5 percent.

Apple snapped a five-day skid, gaining 0.7 percent.

Also aiding the rally in equities was a slowdown in Chinese equities’ selloff with the benchmark Shanghai Composite ending moderately lower at 1.7% in comparison with the 8.5% slump on Monday.

American Express jumped the most in four years after people with knowledge of the matter said ValueAct Capital Management has amassed a stake in the credit-card issuer and is considering pursuing shareholder-friendly changes.