Stock Market Watch

Stocks End Sharply Lower as Jobs Data Disappoints

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Stocks fell sharply in trading today as investors digested weaker than expected jobs report for the month of March. According to figures released by the Labor Department last Friday, the U.S. economy added only 120,000 jobs last month, well short of economists’ forecast.

The weaker than expected jobs report weighed down investors’ sentiment and has also cast doubts over the U.S. economic recovery. The Labor Department report, meanwhile, showed that the unemployment rate fell to 8.2% last month.


All three major indexes ended sharply lower in trading today. The Dow Jones ended the day 1% lower at 12,929.59, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.14% lower at 1,382.20, and the Nasdaq ended the day 1.08% lower at 3,047.08.

All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day in red. Industrials were the worst performers in the S&P 500 in trading today, ending the day 1.61% lower. Consumer Cyclical stocks also fell sharply, ending the day 1.58% lower. Conglomerates ended the day 1.17% lower. Energy stocks ended the day 0.98% lower, while Basic Materials stocks ended the day 0.80% lower. Transportation stocks ended the day 1.43% lower.

Among the major losers in trading today were Molina Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: MOH), which ended the day 26.74% lower at $25.65, Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC), which ended the day 15.41% lower at $42.97, Bridgepoint Education Inc.(NYSE: BPI), which ended the day 9.37% lower at $21.18, and Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P), which ended the day 7.46% lower at $9.18.

Among the major gainers in trading today were AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), which ended the day 43.32% higher at $26.40, Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP), which ended the day 4.58% higher at $34.71, and Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN), which ended the day 6.52% higher at $29.10.

 

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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