Dow Off 400+ Again, Below 9K

Stocks added to yesterday’s deep declines with the major indices registering falls of 4%-5% today, MarketWatch reports. A string of poor retail reports soured confidence ahead of tomorrow’s October unemployment report, expected to be grim. The Dow fell 443.48, dropping below the 9,000 mark to 8,695.79. The Nasdaq lost 72.94 to 1,608.70, and the S&P 500 shed 47.89 to settle at 904.88.

General Motors plummeted 12.6% after its president indicated that the firm’s third-quarter earnings report tomorrow would not meet expectations. The Labor Department, meanwhile, reported the total number of Americans taking unemployment was at a 25-year high. Oil fell $4.53, to $61.05 a barrel, on worries that the slumping global economy will keep demand low. (More Dow Jones stories.)