Economy

CLOSING BELL: July 6: DJIA: 12,772.47 | DOWN 124.20 | -0.96%

OIL: $84.45, DOWN 2.77, -3.18%

GOLD: $1,578.90, DOWN 30.50, -1.90%

GASOLINE (US Avg): $3.358, +.020

Stocks end down 1% on jobs woes

Maureen Farrell @CNNMoney - A weaker-than-expected jobs report dominated investors’ attention Friday, pushing all three major U.S. stock indexes down more than 1%.

The Labor Department’s jobs report, which showed that the economy added just 80,000 jobs in June, came in below expectations and pointed to signs of a deceleration in employment growth — a scary prospect for the broader U.S. economy.

“People are growing more and more concerned,” said Douglas DePietro, managing director at Evercore Partners. “Everyone’s asking ‘how can we have a recovery without any jobs.”

Stocks pared some of the steepest losses near the end of a light trading day on rumors of potential Federal Reserve intervention in the markets. A report in the Wall Street Journal said that Friday’s jobs numbers could spark another round of bond buying by the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) closed the day down 124 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 13 points, or 0.9%. The Nasdaq (COMP) shed 39 points, or 1.3%.

The Dow ended the holiday-shortened week down 0.8%, while the S&P lost 0.5%. The Nasdaq was barely in positive territory for the week, adding less than 0.1%.

Worries over the health of the global economy also caused investors to flee commodities. Oil prices dropped more than 3%. Copper prices dropped more than 2%, and gold prices shed nearly 2%.

The technology sector added to investors’ concerns after two companies, Seagate Technology (STX) and Informatica (INFA), reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of Informatica, which makes enterprise software for corporations, dropped 27%.

Read the rest of the story at CNN Money [Here]

The Common Good publishes a financial market wrap-up every weekday after markets close.