Thread: Dow Plunges 3% 372 points Volatile Trading Economic Fears

Dow Plunges 3% in Volatile Trading on Economic Fears

Thursday, 04 Aug 2011 11:18 AM

Stocks fell sharply Thursday as investors grew more concerned about economic weakness in the U.S. and Europe.

Just before noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 372 points, or more than 3.1 percent, to 11,525. The S&P 500 lost 44, or 3.5 percent, to 1,217. The Nasdaq composite shed 97, or 3.6 percent, to 2,595.

The U.S. government said before the market opened that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time edged only slightly lower last week to 400,000.

That's still above the 375,000 level that economist say indicates a healthy job market. It was the latest indication of weakness in the U.S. economy.

European stocks fell broadly because of concerns that Italy or Spain may need help from the European Union. The benchmark stock indexes in Italy, Germany and England each fell 3 percent.

"We are continuing to be bombarded by worries about the global economy," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial. Some traders are selling ahead of Friday's employment report, which is expected to show that unemployment remained at 9.2 percent last month. A rise in the unemployment number would likely push stocks lower again.

Thursday started as another big sell-off on Wall Street.

Investors poured money into investments that are seen as relatively safe places to park cash when markets are turbulent. Gold rose 1 percent to $1,680 an ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.52 percent, its lowest level of the year. Bond yields fall when demand for them increases.

Companies that make most of their profits when the global economy expands fell the most. Caterpillar, Alcoa and Chevron led the Dow lower with losses of nearly 4 percent each. Kraft Foods was the only company among the 30 stocks in the Dow to rise. Kraft rose 2 percent after the company said that it plans to split into two. One company will focus on snacks such as Oreo cookies and the other will target the North American grocery business.

All 10 industry groups in the S&P index fell. Energy, financial and industrial companies each lost 2 percent or more.

Stock trading has been volatile this week because of concerns that the U.S. economy is weakening. Manufacturing, consumer spending and hiring by private companies are below levels that are consistent with a healthy economy.

General Motors Co. fell 2 percent despite beating analyst estimates. CVS Caremark fell nearly 4 percent after its revenue slipped last quarter.

Several national retailers are announcing July sales results throughout the day. Target, Gap Inc. and Macy's each fell by more than 1 percent, in part because of concerns that consumers would further cut back shopping if the economy continues to slow down.

The Dow rose 30 points Wednesday — after being down 166 — to break an eight-day losing streak. Nine days would have been the longest since February 1978. The S&P 500 index rose 6 points and broke a seven-day streak.

http://www.moneynews.com/Headline/Dow-s ... /id/406108

so ,are we going to see it crash!

Rough ride and getting rougher ..

related

Dow plunges 500 points



Whoops! There goes any progress stocks made in 2011.

Stocks plunged Thursday, with the Dow tumbling 500 points just before the close, as fear about the global economy spooked investors.

"The conventional wisdom on Wall Street was that the economy was growing -- that the worst was behind us," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital. "Now what people are realizing is the stimulus didn't work, and we may be headed back to recession."

U.S. markets were already sharply lower on widespread worries, including the weak job market. But the selling gained momentum as Japanese and European policymakers stepped in with dramatic measures to shore up their financial markets.

There's "total fear" in the market, said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at the world's largest money manager, BlackRock.

All three major indexes tumbled more than 4% Thursday and erased all their gains for the year. The indexes have also pushed into 'correction' territory - defined as a 10% drop from their highs earlier this year. Over the past 10 days alone, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have dropped about 8%.

"In the last two weeks, we've been through the ringer," said Rich Ilczyszyn, market strategist with futures broker Lind-Waldock. "When we start looking at the recovery, there's nothing to hang our hats on anymore."

Source: http://beforeitsnews.com/story/907/314/ ... oints.html