posted on August 6, 2004 03:38:41 PM new
And I'm Dolly Parton:
Dow Closes Down 148 to New 2004 Low
Updated 5:30 PM ET August 6, 2004
By ADAM GELLER
NEW YORK (AP) - The Dow Jones industrial average plunged nearly 150 points Friday to a new 2004 low as investors bailed out of stocks in the wake of a disappointing jobs report and continuing high oil prices. The Nasdaq composite index and Standard & Poor's 500 also marked new year-to-date lows for the second straight session.
The Dow fell 147.70, or 1.5 percent, to 9,815.33, the lowest close on the Dow since Nov. 28. Broader stock indicators also fell sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 16.73, or 1.6 percent, to 1,063.97, and the Nasdaq was down 44.74, or 2.5 percent, at 1,776.89. It was the lowest close for the S&P 500 since Dec. 10, and the lowest for the Nasdaq since Aug. 26, 2003.
Payroll figures released early Friday showed employers added just 32,000 jobs last month, data low enough to warrant worries that a slowing in the economy in June may have been more just a brief pause.
Combined with oil prices still hovering near $44 a barrel, investors sold off heavily for a second straight day, worried that inflation and slow job growth would interrupt the economic recovery for a sustained length of time.
