Stocks Take Sharp Downturn As Economic Readings Sour Outlook
The stock market finished with a sharp loss Thursday after bleak readings on the economy heightened investors' fears of recession.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 142.96, or 1.15 percent, to 12,284.30. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 17.50, or 1.29 percent, to 1342.53, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 27.32, or 1.17 percent, to 2299.78.</br></br>Wall Street was disappointed when the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that regional manufacturing fell more than predicted. The Conference Board's January index of leading economic indicators posted its fourth consecutive drop.</br></br>The biggest loser among the 30 Dow components was General Motors after lender GMAC, which is part-owned by GM, said it will slash hundreds of jobs at its auto-finance business.</br></br>Investors have already been pricing in another interest rate cut after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy-setting meeting indicated that central bankers will remain vigilant about the economy. Bond prices moved sharply higher on expectations of a rate reduction. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.78 percent from 3.89 percent late Wednesday.