Dow Reels on Economic Fears

Stocks fell sharply today as political progress on the bailout failed to encourage traders who were absorbing poor jobs and manufacturing data, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 348.22 and closed at 10,482.85, the Nasdaq shed 92.68 to 1,976.72, and the S&P 500 fell 46.78 to 1,114.28.

Orders for manufactured goods decreased 4% in July, the Commerce Department reported. Weekly jobless claims surged, stoking insecurity ahead of tomorrow’s report on September unemployment. Those factors overshadowed maneuvering over the bailout. “Even though there's fear out there that they reject the bill, the market's decline today is on the back of dismal economic numbers,” one economist told MarketWatch.
(More Dow Jones stories.)