Investors took it on the chin Friday as a disappointing jobs report sent the markets down to the canvas, where they never recovered.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 1.27% at 13,038, with the S&P 500 falling 1.61% to 1,369, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq taking a powder at 2,956, down 2.25%.
More than half the Dow components took plunges of 1% or worse on the day, with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) shedding 3% on news that the company will cut 2,000 jobs. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) followed its banking neighbor down 2.93%.
The Labor Department showed 115,000 new jobs created in April, a far cry from the 160,000 jobs forecast by economists, and well behind revised March numbers of 154,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 8.1% as 342,000 workers dropped out of the labor force. At this point, the portion of the working-age population participating in the job market is 63.6%, the lowest level since 1981.
Oil prices dipped below $100 per barrel and the average price of gas at the pump now stands at $3.80. Lower demand and stability in Iran contributed to the fall, a welcome sight heading into the summer season.
LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) announced on Thursday that its net income and revenues jumped in the first quarter. LinkedIn also said that it had agreed to buy SlideShare, a business content sharing site, for about $119 million. LNKD was up sharply on the news, rising 7% to $119, one of the few good-news moves of the day.
Three Up
- LeapFrog (NYSE:LF): Up 14.7% ($1.32) to $10.30 (Read more about LeapFrog here).
- Renren (NYSE:RENN): Up 5.7% (36 cents) to $6.70.
- United Continental (NYSE:UAL): Up 3.3% (71 cents) to $22.28.
Three Down
- Nokia (NYSE:NOK): Down 11% (39 cents) to $22.28.
- Arena Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:ANRA): Down 6.5% (18 cents) to $2.60.
- Amko (NASDAQ:AMKR): Down 5.5% (27 cents) to $4.63.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
