Dow Falls 186, Biggest Drop Since July 2

(NEWSER) - The Dow tumbled 175 points at the open today, following even bigger selloffs in overseas markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The S&P and Nasdaq each fell 2.2%. Those drops followed a whopping 5.8% dive on China’s Shanghai Composite Index, a 3.1% drop for Japan’s Nikkei, and 2% falls for the UK’s FTSE and Germany’s DAX. Freefalling commodity prices drove the negativity, with multiple Chinese metal companies taking the maximum 10% hits. More»

Global markets set losing tone for NYSE

(NEWSER) - Stocks plunged today as President Obama signed the economic stimulus package into law, MarketWatch reports. With a negative tone set by losses in the overseas stock markets, financials led declines, with Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and American Express all down at least 9%. The Dow lost 297.81 points to close at 7,552.60, less than a point off the five-year low on Nov. 20, notes the Wall Street Journal. The Nasdaq fell 63.70 points, settling at 1,471, and the S&P 500 dropped 37.66 points to close at 789. More»

Boost in new home sales is not enough to sustain day's gains

(NEWSER) - Stocks closed down today at the end of an extremely volatile session that saw the Dow up over 200 points as investors reeled from plunging overseas markets but were somewhat encouraged by positive news on US home sales, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 203.18 to close at 8,175.77. The Nasdaq fell 46.13 to 1,505.90, while the S&P 500 closed down 27.85 at 848.92. More»

It's Dow's best finish since 2008

(NEWSER) - Today's rosy jobs report did wonders for the markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, in fact, closed at an 11-year high, reports MarketWatch , while the Dow finished at its highest level since May 2008, notes the Wall Street Journal . The numbers:

• Dow: Up 157, 1.2%, to 12,862
• Nasdaq: Up 46, 1.6%, to 2,906
• S&P 500: Up 19, 1.5%, to 1,345

Market has its best day this month

(AP) - Encouraging signs out of Europe and a surprisingly strong report on the US housing market drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 330 points today. It was the best day for stocks this month. The Spanish government pulled off a successful debt auction, and gauges of business and consumer confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said builders broke ground on 685,000 new homes last month, a 9.3% jump from October. That's the highest level since April 2010. More»