1st June, 2012
US stocks dropped more than two percent Friday after the government released poor labor market figures that showed a meager 69,000 jobs added in May.
That combined with dismal data on industry from the US, Europe, China and elsewhere to produce a picture of a sharply slowing global economy, sending bulls for the doors on Wall Street.
At the closing bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 277.23 points (2.24 percent) to 12,116.22.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 32.40 points (2.47 percent) to 1,277.93, while the Nasdaq Composite sank 79.86 (2.82 percent) to 2,747.48.
Losses came across the board, following in the path of earlier sharp market drops in Europe.
“It’s an ugly day for US stocks, as a disappointingly weak report on May payrolls has thoroughly rattled investors,” said Elizabeth Harrow of Schaeffer’s Investment Research.