Dow Plummets 266, Back Under 12K

Debt deal provides no bounce
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 2, 2011 3:02 PM CDT
Dow Plummets 266, Goes Back Under 12K
Specialist William Krumm watches the vote in the U.S. Senate as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Just imagine if they hadn't gotten a deal at the last minute: The stock market had a brutal day, despite today's final passage of the bill to avert a default, reports MarketWatch. The Dow fell 266 to 11,867 (2.2%); Nasdaq fell 75 to 2,669 (2.8%), and the S&5 500 fell 33 to 1,254 (2.6%). Gloomy data on consumer spending—Americans as a whole cut back in June for the first time in nearly two years—contributed to the malaise.

“This debate has left a cloud of uncertainty over the market in terms of what it means," says an analyst at MF Global. "The good news is we’re not going to default, the bad news is we don’t know what is coming out of Washington. There’s a loss of confidence and a rethinking of the profit outlook going out a few years." (More stock market stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X