Yesterday was another down day for US stocks. MarketWatch reports:
U.S. stocks on Thursday extended losses into a second day, with technology shares under pressure as a result of disappointing numbers from Oracle Corp. and Google Inc...
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 120.40 points, or nearly 1%, to 12,302.46, with all but two of its 30 components posting losses...
The S&P 500 index eased 15.37 points, or 1.2%, to 1,325.76, while the Nasdaq Composite slumped 43.53 points, almost 2%, to 2,280.83.
The economic reports yesterday had not looked too bad.
Easing recent concerns about the extent of the slumping U.S. economy, the Commerce Department said its 0.6% estimate for growth in gross domestic product was unrevised from the previous two estimates. See full story.
Meanwhile, first-time claims for state unemployment benefits for the week ended March 22 fell 9,000 to stand at 366,000, the Labor Department reported. See Economic Report.
On the other hand, Brian Blackstone points out that while gross domestic product had been up in the fourth quarter, gross domestic income had posted its largest decline -- at a one percent annualised rate -- since the 2001 recession, possibly suggesting that "the debate may not be whether the U.S. is slipping into recession in 2008, but whether it’s already been in one for months".
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