Stock Market Plummets For Sixth Straight Week, DOW Drops Below 12,000
Jun 10, 2011 4 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Excerpted from CNBC:
Stocks extended losses Friday, pointing to a sixth-consecutive losing week, as financials sagged following news that the Fed plans on expanding capital tests for banks and after a dismal trade data from China underscored fears of a weakening global economy.
Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal:
NEW YORK—Another dose of anguish about the U.S. economic recovery sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average below 12000, pointing to a sixth straight weekly decline that would be blue chips longest slump since 2002.
The Dow sank 142 points, or 1.2%, to 11983 in late-morning trading, dropping below 12,000 for the first time since mid-March. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index shed 15, or 1.2%, to 1274. The broad index has notched six weeks of declines, the longest losing streak since 2008.
The Nasdaq Composite turned negative for the year as it shed 34 points, or 1.3%, to 2651. The small-cap Russell also turned negative for the year after losing 12 points, or 1.5%, to 781 during the session.
Investors were dour after U.S. May import prices showed a surprise gain of 0.2%, hinting at an inflation push coming into the U.S. from abroad.
The action follows a string of weak readings on the U.S. economy that have joined with pessimism about the euro zone’s debt problems and weaker global growth to drive major stock indexes lower. The mood on the trading floor was grim.
“At the moment there doesn’t seem to be any place to hide,” said Ted Weisberg, president of Seaport Securities. “Best-case scenario, [traders] don’t know what to do. Worst case, they’re simply throwing in the towel because they’re frustrated. Nothing seems to work.”
