By Ellis Mnyandu NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Thursday, driving the S&P 500 down to its third-straight weekly loss, as a steeper-than-expected slide in June non-farm payrolls revived caution about economic recovery prospects. News that U.S. employers shed nearly half a million jobs last month and the unemployment rate jumped to 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years, dampened recent hopes that the recession might be abating. Investors pummeled stocks across the board, but energy, industrials, financials, technology and consumer-oriented shares were among the hardest-hit sectors. These sectors were at the forefront of the broader market’s recent recovery from the 12-year closing lows of early March as investors bet that the worst of the economic slump was over. All told, the jobs data served as a reality check and signaled that any recovery will not be smooth sailing, analysts said. “Quite frankly, rising unemployment is bad for the entire economy,” said Sasha Kostadinov, portfolio manager at Shaker Investments in Cleveland, Ohio.[...]
- Global stocks drop on economic jitters
By Kevin Plumberg HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks tumbled on Tuesday, as confidence in the recovery ebbed and falling commodity prices and a sharp drop on Wall Street spooked investors into taking profits and buying the yen for safety. Major European stock market futures pointed to a lower open...
- Investors lift global stocks, look past banking worry
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - Investors generally put aside recent worries about the world economy and banking industry woes on Thursday, sending global stocks higher and reversing safety flows into the Japanese yen. Mixed earnings plagued European markets, however, with Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) posting better-than-expected profits...
- Bernanke says early response to bank tests encouraging
JECKYLL ISLAND, Georgia (Reuters) - Government “stress tests” of how 19 major banks would endure a sharp downturn in the economy already appear to be helping banks gain access to private capital, a key element in economic recovery, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday. “The initial indications are...
- Wall Street slides on disappointing jobs data
By Edward Krudy NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell sharply on Thursday after payrolls data showed more Americans than expected lost their jobs in June, dimming hopes of a quick economic recovery. U.S. employers cut 467,000 jobs in June, far more than the 363,000 forecast by a Reuters survey, while...
- Asia stocks at 10-month high, credit gains
By Eric Burroughs HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares inched up to a 10-month peak on Wednesday, but gains were kept in check as investors booked profits in the belief that the run in stocks had become overstretched. The dollar was stuck near a seven-week low and government bond yields...