DOW Has Worst Day Since 8/11/11, Dismal Prospects For Recovery

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Home > Markets Down, Closing News 6/1/11

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Markets Down, Closing News 6/1/11
By Courtney Raio
Created June 01, 2011
.1 Jun 2011 | 04:55 PM | Posted by: Courtney Raio [1]
Markets Down, Closing News 6/1/11
The Dow tumbled over 2.2% today in its worst day since August 11, 2011. The sell-off was sparked by troubling economic data from the ADP jobs report and the May ISM manufacturing index. The slide was compounded later in the afternoon as Moody’s cut Greece’s debt rating again- now seven levels into junk status, and the Dow finished right near the day’s lows.

The ADP jobs report came in much lighter than expected, showing only 38k jobs were added in May. Estimates had been for the addition of 190k jobs, and the reading was the worst report since September 2010. CNBC has been reporting that because of the weak ADP report, many analysts are adjusting their estimates for Friday’s non-farm payroll report by as much as 50k. The May ISM manufacturing index also fell further than expected, down 6.9 points to 53.5, the first reading in six months below 60, vs. 57.1 expected.

Moody’s today reported that the odds of a Greek default are now even, and cut Greece’s credit rating another three notches to Caa1, and lowered the outlook to negative. Also hurting the Euro was the news that Spanish wage talks have stalled and a disappointing debt auction for Portugal, which added pressure to reach a deal to prevent Greek default and limit the contagion.

The House of Representatives voted against increasing the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion last night by a vote of 318-97. The Republican-controlled House voted down the bill because it didn’t include any provisions to curb spending. President Obama met with Republicans today in an effort to make progress addressing the debt ceiling issue.

As we go into June it is worthwhile noting that since 2000, June has been the worst month for the Dow. The average return for June over the past 11 years is -2.31%, and the Dow has been lower for the month for the past six years. Maybe there is something to the “sell in May and stay away” strategy.

Market Indices/Statistics:

•Dow closed down 279.65 pts/-2.22% to 12,290.14
•S&P closed down 13.65pts/-2.28% to 1,314.55
•Nasdaq closed down 66.11 pts/-2.33% to 2,769.19
•All 30 Dow stocks closed lower
•All 10 S&P 500 sectors closed lower
•Financials was the worst performing sector (down 3.48%)
•The VIX is up 2.85 pts to 18.30
•Oil is down $2.60 to $100.10
•Nat Gas is down $0.037 to $4.629
•Gold is up $2.90 to $1,539.40
•Euro vs. Dollar down $0.0063 to $1.4327
•Dollar vs. Yen down $0.58 to $80.93