Dow Closes at Lowest Mark Since March

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,951.91 Friday, falling below 12,000 for the first time since March 18, as reported by the New York Times. It dropped 172.45 points, or 1.42 percent, and was down 1.6 percent for the week, marking the sixth consecutive week there has been a loss. Christine Hauser of the Times writes that "analysts attributed [the decline] to a sense that the global economy was slowing and that European debt problems were entrenched."

Financial and energy stocks declined the most; "energy stocks were more than 1.5 percent down after reports that Saudi Arabia would increase oil production," according to Hauser. Major European indexes also fell by over one percent, and China's trade surplus in May was reported lower than had been anticipated. The euro also declined, likely a response to the debt issue in Greece, "as European policy makers continued to appear unable to reach a common view" on how to move forward.

According to the article, there are no signals that stocks will rebound next week.

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Stock Market Slumps Following Negative Economic Reports

Stocks on Wall Street went down more than 2 percent and Treasury yields fell on Wednesday, following the release of economic statistics that "sent a bleak picture of the employment and manufacturing sectors," as reported by the New York Times. According to ADP Employer Services, the payroll processing firm, private employers added only 38,000 jobs in May, a figure much lower than what had been expected and the smallest since September 2010.

Economists had anticipated the addition of over 175,000 private sector jobs, and some speculated that the unexpectedly low number was influenced by recent storms that led automobile manufacturers--faced with a disrupted supply chain--to temporarily lay off workers. The Dow Jones industrial average had gone down 279.65, points, or 2.22%; Standard & Poor's 500-stock index 30.65 points, or 2.28%; and the Nasdaq composite index had fallen 66.11 points, or 2.33%, at Wednesday's close.

Nonfarm payroll employment figures for May will be released by the government Friday.

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