Dow Off 679 on Dour Data

The stock market tumbled today amid dismal global economic data, MarketWatch reports, including a report by a group of economists that, by their measure, the US economy has been in recession since December 2007. The Dow fell 679.95 to close at 8,149.09. The Nasdaq dropped 137.50, settling at 1,398.07, and the S&P 500 shed 80.03 points to close at 816.21.

The National Retail Federation reported a 7.2% rise in retail sales this holiday weekend over last year’s, but analysts noted that shoppers mainly bought sharply discounted items. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell from 38.9% to 36.2% in November—the lowest reading since 1982. Manufacturing gauges in China and the UK also fell to record lows. (More Dow Jones stories.)