Stock Market Watch

Stocks End Sharply Lower; S&P 500 and Nasdaq Post Biggest Weekly Loss of 2012

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Stocks ended sharply lower in trading on Friday, with all three major indexes finishing near session lows. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged in their worst weekly performance of 2012.

Stocks tumbled on Friday after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added only 115,000 jobs in the month of April, well below economists’ forecast. The Dow Jones ended the day 1.27% lower at 13,038.27, the S&P 500 ended the day 1.61% lower at 1,369.10, and the Nasdaq ended the day 2.25% lower at 2,956.34.


For the week, the Dow Jones fell 1.26%, the S&P 500 fell 2.21%, and the Nasdaq fell 3.09%.

All sectors in the S&P 500 ended sharply lower. Energy stocks were the worst performers in the S&P 500 on Friday, ending the day 2.24% lower. Technology stocks also fell sharply, ending the day 2.17% lower. Industrials ended the day 1.92% lower, while Conglomerates ended the day 1.47% lower. Basic Materials stocks ended the day 1.72% lower.

Among the major losers in trading on Friday were Body Central Corp. (NASDAQ: BODY), which ended the day 48.55% lower at $14.88, Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ARCO), which ended the day 16.49% lower at $14.28, Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), which ended the day 5.35% lower at $60.72, Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ: SAPE), which ended the day 11.98% lower at $9.77, and Manitowoc Company Inc. (NYSE: MTW), which ended the day 10.18% lower at $12.88.

Among the major gainers in trading on Friday were Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB), which ended the day 17.51% higher at $44.22, and LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE: LNKD), which ended the day 7.21% higher at $117.30.

European markets also finished sharply lower, with all major indexes in the region ending the day in red.

 

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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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