| Stocks End In The Red Ahead of Friday's Jobs and Unemployment Report |
| May-03-2012 |
| Keywords: russia, threaten, missile defense, |
The three-major U.S. stock indexes today ending in the red as investors digest weaker than expected growth in the services sector during April. Investors also expressed apprehension ahead of tomorrow's reports on non-farm payrolls and the unemployment rate in April.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.98 points, led by a more than 3% drop in the shares of Hewlett-Packard. The Nasdaq Composite lost 35.55 points. Energy stocks pressuring the S&P 500, which ended the session down 10.74 points.
The market as a whole feeling the pressure of weaker than expected growth in the services sector during April. The sector which accounts for about 75% of our nation's employment, grew at the slowest pace in six-months.
That news overshadowing a big drop in weekly jobless claims. Initial jobless claims last week fell 27,000 to 365,000. That's the largest weekly drop in nearly a year.
And a warning from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi also dampening the mood of investors today. Draghi warned that the region's economic growth is being jeopardized by mounting sovereign debt among its member nations.
Hewlett-Packard proving to be the biggest drag on the blue chip index today, falling 3%. Those losses compounded by 2% declines in Bank of America and Caterpillar.
Some other noteworthy movers today - Whole Foods Market Inc. jumped 7.5% to a record high $90.69 a share. General Motors lost about 2.5% after posting a drop in quarterly profits. And Green Mountain Coffee Roasters plummets more than 47% after slashing its full-year sales forecast.
And crude oil prices today tumble to a two-week low on news of slowing growth in the services sector. The June crude futures contract ending the session down more than $2.50 - settling at $102.54 a barrel. |
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Posted by Lou Dobbs Staff at 12:00 PM Email to a friend |
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