Wall Street Slides Again 22May 2009

How the major stock indexes fared Thursday

Another bad signal from the job market and concern over a possible downgrade of British government debt sent stocks sharply lower Thursday. The day's news added to recent anxiety that the market may have moved too high too quickly on early signs of recovery in the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 129.91, or 1.5 percent, to 8,292.13.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15.14, or 1.7 percent, to 888.33.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 32.59, or 1.9 percent, to 1,695.25.

For the week:
The Dow is up 23.49, or 0.28 percent.

The S&P is up 5.45, or 0.62 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 15.11, or 0.90 percent.

For the year:
The Dow is down 484.26, or 5.52 percent.
The S&P is down 14.92, or 1.65 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 118.22, or 7.50 percent.

The day ends with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down 129 points. At its lows the average was off by 201 points but buyers stepped in during the final hour to cut the loss. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) both posted similar declines.

Earlier the Dow was testing near-term support. The average held there but buyers will need to step in tomorrow to keep that intact, so keep an eye on that.