It's been a rough few days for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Index |
Change |
Ending Value |
---|---|---|
Dow Jones Industrial Average | -213.66 [-1.65%] | 12,715.93 |
Nasdaq | -55.86 [-1.83%] | 2,991.22 |
S&P 500 | -23.61 [-1.71%] | 1,358.59 |
Just over a week after ending its best quarter since 1998, the Dow has now declined in five straight trading days. The sell-off began last week, when the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting led investors to believe that there will probably be no additional stimulus in the short term. Then, a disappointing U.S. jobs report showed that U.S. employers added 85,000 fewer jobs in March than expected. Because of holidays, the markets didn't digest the report until Monday in the U.S. and today in Europe.
On top of disappointing U.S. jobs numbers, renewed concerns over European countries' debt loads helped push the Dow down. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 2.5% today to close at a six-week low. Spain, in particular, is becoming more and more of a worry for investors on both sides of the pond. Spanish bond yields are at their highest levels this year, and Spanish stocks have hit their lowest levels in three years.
Biggest loser
As is many times the case with market sell-offs on macroeconomic news, Bank of America
Outside the Dow, one of the biggest losers was Best Buy
Biggest winner
Interestingly, the biggest winner on the day is a company that declined nearly 3% during normal trading hours today. That company is Alcoa
Alcoa's surge after hours today is one example of why investors must keep close tabs on their favorite companies during earnings season. Our all-star team of analysts has included five of their favorite companies in our brand-new free report, titled "5 Stocks Investors Need to Watch This Earnings Season." Included in the report are the names of a natural gas company, a technology company, and a rapidly growing retailer that could be poised to pop after they report earnings. Get access to the report -- it's free!