U.S. stocks traded near session lows in a turbulent environment as a better-than-anticipated jobs report couldn't fully convince investors that growth and economic problems are improving.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 129 points, or 1.1%, to 11254, in volatile trading Friday morning. The blue-chip index rose as much as 171 points in early trading, but lost all of its gains within the first half hour of trading.
The Dow tumbled 512 points Thursday, its biggest point drop since Dec. 1, 2008. It is in the red for the year and has fallen more than 11% below the 2011 closing high in April, putting the measure squarely in correction territory.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 17 points, or 1.4%, to 1183, led lower by financial and energy stocks. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 51 points, or 2%, to 2506, in whipsaw trading.
The action comes as the U.S. economy added 117,000 jobs last month, more than economists were expecting. The unemployment rate edged lower to 9.1%, which should help ease concerns that another recession may be around the corner. Recent reports have shown a drop in consumer spending, a slowing manufacturing sector and sluggish economic growth.
"One nice number isn't enough to change sentiment at the moment," said Ted Weisberg, president of Seaport Securities. "Folks are scared and want to take risk off the table."
Investors had come into Friday's trading with bated breath after a rollercoaster week during which many began to lose faith in the ability and willingness of governments to contain a snowballing crisis.
In Europe, leaders are grappling with a widening debt crisis, which started in Greece and spread to Italy and Spain. An earlier bailout of Greece now appears insufficient. There are growing concerns about European banks and their heavy investments in the debt of countries with big fiscal problems.
In overseas markets, Europe kept the selling going with the Stoxx Europe 600 hitting its lowest in more than a year. Asian exchanges were also sharply lower.
"There's a pre-disposition for fear and anxiety," said Matt Lloyd, chief investment strategist at Advisors Asset Management. "People aren't quite sure what to think right now."
While the jobs report is a bright spot among the gloomy U.S. economic data, some investors warn that it may be only a temporary salve to underlying worries that the economy may be heading toward a double-dip recession.
"The market is still pretty shaken up and in panic mode," said Binky Chadha, chief U.S. equity strategist at Deutsche Bank. "Our view is encouraged by today's jobs report, but this data won't completely stop the panic."
Part of the reason U.S. stocks were pummeled in early morning trading was a well-circulated but unsubstantiated rumor that S&P was going to downgrade U.S. credit rating. S&P told Dow Jones Newswires it declined to comment on market rumors, and it also declined to give any update on a U.S. review.
"There were rumors around 10 a.m. [EDT] that S&P was looking to downgrade," said Elliott Roman, managing director at Direct Access Partners. "The rumor was denied and then we rallied off the lows."
There was no one single catalyst for Thursday's downdraft, traders said. Rather it reflected multiple concerns that have mounted over the past month and came to a head this week. Worries about a U.S. default, settled by a last-minute fix to lift the country's debt limit Tuesday, have given way to broader fears about the failing health of the domestic economy.
Investors are also questioning how much longer the recent run of strong corporate earnings can continue. Amid other troubles, corporate profits have been a rare bright spot.
Thursday's carnage in stocks was the Dow's ninth down session in the past 10. With losses totaling 11.1% from its 2011 high hit in April, the index has entered official "correction" territory.
In corporate news, Procter & Gamble Co.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 15% as sales grew across the world. But the world's largest consumer-goods company was cautious on the current quarter, where price increases haven't caught up to rising costs. Shares fell 0.1%.
Priceline.com Inc. surged 7.7 after the online travel-services company reported second-quarter results and a third-quarter outlook that were better than expected.
LinkedIn Corp.'s second-quarter profit grew 5.1% on strong revenue growth as the professional-networking site added subscribers, a strong showing for the company's first quarterly results since going public. Shares erased morning gains and were recently down 8.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 129 points, or 1.1%, to 11254, in volatile trading Friday morning. The blue-chip index rose as much as 171 points in early trading, but lost all of its gains within the first half hour of trading.
The Dow tumbled 512 points Thursday, its biggest point drop since Dec. 1, 2008. It is in the red for the year and has fallen more than 11% below the 2011 closing high in April, putting the measure squarely in correction territory.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index fell 17 points, or 1.4%, to 1183, led lower by financial and energy stocks. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 51 points, or 2%, to 2506, in whipsaw trading.
The action comes as the U.S. economy added 117,000 jobs last month, more than economists were expecting. The unemployment rate edged lower to 9.1%, which should help ease concerns that another recession may be around the corner. Recent reports have shown a drop in consumer spending, a slowing manufacturing sector and sluggish economic growth.
"One nice number isn't enough to change sentiment at the moment," said Ted Weisberg, president of Seaport Securities. "Folks are scared and want to take risk off the table."
Investors had come into Friday's trading with bated breath after a rollercoaster week during which many began to lose faith in the ability and willingness of governments to contain a snowballing crisis.
In Europe, leaders are grappling with a widening debt crisis, which started in Greece and spread to Italy and Spain. An earlier bailout of Greece now appears insufficient. There are growing concerns about European banks and their heavy investments in the debt of countries with big fiscal problems.
In overseas markets, Europe kept the selling going with the Stoxx Europe 600 hitting its lowest in more than a year. Asian exchanges were also sharply lower.
"There's a pre-disposition for fear and anxiety," said Matt Lloyd, chief investment strategist at Advisors Asset Management. "People aren't quite sure what to think right now."
While the jobs report is a bright spot among the gloomy U.S. economic data, some investors warn that it may be only a temporary salve to underlying worries that the economy may be heading toward a double-dip recession.
Part of the reason U.S. stocks were pummeled in early morning trading was a well-circulated but unsubstantiated rumor that S&P was going to downgrade U.S. credit rating. S&P told Dow Jones Newswires it declined to comment on market rumors, and it also declined to give any update on a U.S. review.
"There were rumors around 10 a.m. [EDT] that S&P was looking to downgrade," said Elliott Roman, managing director at Direct Access Partners. "The rumor was denied and then we rallied off the lows."
There was no one single catalyst for Thursday's downdraft, traders said. Rather it reflected multiple concerns that have mounted over the past month and came to a head this week. Worries about a U.S. default, settled by a last-minute fix to lift the country's debt limit Tuesday, have given way to broader fears about the failing health of the domestic economy.
Investors are also questioning how much longer the recent run of strong corporate earnings can continue. Amid other troubles, corporate profits have been a rare bright spot.
Thursday's carnage in stocks was the Dow's ninth down session in the past 10. With losses totaling 11.1% from its 2011 high hit in April, the index has entered official "correction" territory.
In corporate news, Procter & Gamble Co.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 15% as sales grew across the world. But the world's largest consumer-goods company was cautious on the current quarter, where price increases haven't caught up to rising costs. Shares fell 0.1%.
Priceline.com Inc. surged 7.7 after the online travel-services company reported second-quarter results and a third-quarter outlook that were better than expected.
LinkedIn Corp.'s second-quarter profit grew 5.1% on strong revenue growth as the professional-networking site added subscribers, a strong showing for the company's first quarterly results since going public. Shares erased morning gains and were recently down 8.9%.
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