Stocks open lower after dismal jobs report
The sell-off is relatively subdued after the Labor Department reports the heaviest job losses in 34 years.
Reporting from New York — Stock prices fell this morning after the Labor Department reported the heaviest job losses in 34 years, but the decline was relatively muted given that layoffs were far higher than predicted.
Stocks opened lower after the news that the country shed 533,000 jobs last month, a sign that the year-old recession may be deepening.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 250 points early on but recovered a bit after that.
As of 8:15 a.m. PST, the Dow was off 185.66 points, or 2.2%, to 8,190.58. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 2.2% and the Nasdaq composite index fell 1.7%.
Financial stocks were the only one of the S&P's 10 broad industry categories to register a gain. Energy stocks were down 5% after crude oil continued its slide, falling $1.91 to $41.76 a barrel.
The stock sell-off might have been worse if the market hadn't fallen late Thursday on speculation that the cutbacks would exceed the 335,000 consensus estimate.
The eye-popping layoff figure also raised hope that the government would increase the size of its eventual stimulus package to forestall an even deeper downturn.
Hamilton is a Times staff writer
walter.hamilton@latimes.com
