closest to the pin at close 6 nov 09, page-72

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks reversed declines and crude oil pared losses that were driven by the nation’s unemployment rate reaching a 26-year high. Gold surpassed $1,100 an ounce for the first time.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained for the fifth straight day, adding 0.1 percent to 1,067.98 and erasing a 0.7 percent drop that followed the Labor Department report showing the jobless rate hitting 10.2 percent in October.

“This was a knee-jerk reaction to the numbers, but I think the market generally discerns with unemployment that nothing good was expected,” said Jeffrey Schappe, who helps manage $17 billion as chief investment officer at BB&T Asset Management Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It’s a trailing indicator. It doesn’t tell you what’s going to happen.”