NEW YORK—All three U.S. stock indices fell by more than 2 percent on June 1, as the Dow sank into the red for 2012 for the first time.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 275 points, or 2.2 percent. The broader S&P 500 Index suffered its biggest one-day drop since last November shedding 32 points, or 2.5 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.8 percent, or 80 points on the day.
U.S. employers added only 69,000 jobs last month, far below expectations of 160,000 jobs and the fewest number of monthly jobs added in 2012.
The official unemployment rate, as a result, rose from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent.
Dissection of the jobs numbers showed that the private sector added jobs while the public sector and government shed jobs in May. Government jobs fell by 13,000 headcounts. The services industry showed the biggest job increases (84,000 for the month), while construction jobs fell by 28,000.
The disappointing U.S. job data was an insult to injury to traders, who also had to digest dismal Chinese economic growth figures and a eurozone debt crisis on the verge of spiraling out of control.
The eurozone’s unemployment rate was at 11 percent, while the unemployment rate in Spain rose to nearly 25 percent. The Chinese manufacturing index also fell, signaling economic expansion of the world’s most populous country is slowing to a halt.
Not surprisingly, banks suffered the worst declines. The KBW bank index fell 4.9 percent on Friday, pulled down by steep losses on shares of Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Shares of heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc., which depends on global economic growth, fell 2.4 percent, or $2.10. It was the worst performing member of the Dow last Friday.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
Friends Read Free