Dow Worries Its Way Down 130

(NEWSER) - Stocks plummeted at today’s open after Standard & Poor’s warned it might downgrade the UK’s credit rating, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow tumbled 126 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P each fell more than 1%. Investors now fear other major economies, including the US, could face downgrades. Job data were mixed, with initial claims falling 12,000, but continuing claims climbing 75,000 to a record 6,662,000. More»

Dow drops triple digits

(NEWSER) - Stocks plunged at the opening bell today, thanks to the super committee's failure to reach a deal and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe. As of 9:37am, the Dow was down 158 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P were down 40 and 19 points, respectively, as investors bet that the US would suffer yet another credit rating downgrade. More»

Dow loses 135 points at open, now down more than 500

(NEWSER) - Investors reacted to the S&P's US credit rating downgrade and Europe's debt woes today exactly the way you'd expect: They panicked. Stocks started low, and have sunk ever deeper throughout the day. As of 2:26pm EST, the Dow was down a whopping 600 points, taking it below 11,000, with the S&P and Nasdaq falling around 76 and 158 points, respectively. “The initial reaction with most things problematic in the market is to sell and ask questions later,” one investment banker told the Wall Street Journal this morning. More»

(NEWSER) - Markets were up today on a surging food sector and good data from the manufacturing and housing industries, the Wall Street Journal reports. A key manufacturing activity index jumped from May to June, and an indicator of pending home sales also climbed for the fourth straight month. Amid the gains, the dollar weakened on strong economic recovery news from China. The Dow jumped 57.06 to 8,504.06, the S&P rose 4 to 923.32, and the Nasdaq tacked on 10.68 to end at 1,845.72. More»

(NEWSER) - Markets rallied today on positive news from the retail and housing sectors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Major builders saw stocks go up as much as 15%, leading some to predict an end to the crisis in the housing market. In retail, meanwhile, companies such as Bed Bath and Beyond and Best Buy benefited from the bankruptcies of competitors. The Dow was up 172.54 to 8,472.40. The S&P gained 19.33 to end at 920.27. And NASDAQ tacked on 37.20 to finish at 1,829.54. More»