After finishing its worst month in two years yesterday, investors may have been asking themselves whether the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Today, a dismal U.S. jobs report combined with weak manufacturing data from around the world to help drop the Dow down more than 2%. That was enough to push the blue chip index into the red for all of 2012.
The day got off to a bad start before the bell, when U.S. jobs data showed that payrolls increased by just 69,000 in May, the smallest increase in a year. On top of that, April's jobs number was revised significantly lower that initially reported. Manufacturing data from around the world was also underwhelming. U.S. manufacturing growth slowed more than expected in May, while eurozone manufacturing contracted for the 10th straight month. Asia wasn't immune, either -- manufacturing in China grew less than expected in May, leading more investors to call for stronger stimulus from the government.
Let's check the damage and see how the three major U.S. indices fared on the day:
Index |
Change |
Ending Value |
---|---|---|
Dow Jones Industrial Average | -274.88 [-2.22%] | 12,118.57 |
Nasdaq | -79.66 [-2.82%] | 2,747.48 |
S&P 500 | -32.29 [-2.46%] | 1,278.04 |
It didn't get any prettier looking at individual stocks; all 30 Dow components finished the day in negative territory. Hewlett-Packard
The financial sector as a whole seemed to take the hardest hit today, with Bank of America
Outside the Dow, Facebook
The big picture
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