Stocks End Lower Before Jobs Report

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Kaiser Aluminum (KALU) shares rose 6.9% on an upgrade by Bear Stearns (BSC) to outperform from peer perform after an "upbeat management meeting." Among the positive signs, Bear Stearns cited the company's projected strength in aerospace, driven by expected strong order growth from international carriers, and organic growth initiatives that remain on schedule. Bear Stearns upped its 2007 profit estimate to $4.65 from $3.45 a share.

E-Future Information Technology Inc. (EFUT) shares soared 66.3% after it said that Beijing Tourism Group (BTG), one of China's largest tourism groups, has licensed its Visual Process Management software to centralize purchasing and optimize business processes of its selected business segments.

Panera Bread Co. (PNRA) shares rose 8% after it narrowed its third-quarter profit forecast to 35 to 37 cents from 32 to 38 cents a share on a reported 35% rise in revenue. The company said system-wide sales rose 0.8% in September at its bakery-cafes open at least 18 months.

European equity indexes were trading higher Wednesday. In London, the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.54% to 6,535.20. Germany's DAX index edged 0.11% higher to 7,955.30. In Paris, the CAC 40 reversed to the upside to trade 0.12% higher at 5,806.18.

Asian markets ended mixed. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.90% to 17,199.89. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index leaped dropped 2.55% to 27,479.94. The Shanghai composite index is closed all week for a Chinese national holiday.

Treasury Market

Treasury yields bounced on positive ISM non-manufacturing and private employment numbers, which triggered nervous selling from trading and leveraged accounts, Action Economics cited sources as saying.

The 10-year note slipped 09/32 to 101-16/32 for a yield of 4.56%, and the 2-year bond was down 03/32 to 99-30/32 for a yield of 4.02%. The 30-year bond fell 14/32 to 103-06/32 for a yield of 4.80%.

Bogoslaw is a reporter for BusinessWeek's Investing channel .