Dow closes below 13,000
ASSOCIATED PRESS April 9, 2012 8:58AM
In this Feb. 21, 2012 photo a trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. U.S. employers added 120,000 jobs in March according to the Labor Department, well short of the 210,000 economists were expecting. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Updated: April 10, 2012 1:11AM
NEW YORK — Stocks are closing sharply lower after investors delivered their verdict on disappointing job growth in March. It’s only the second four-day losing streak of the year for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500.
The Dow finished down 130 points at 12,929, its first close below 13,000 since March 12. The S&P is ending the day off 16 points at 1,382. The Nasdaq composite closed down 33 at 3,047.
The country added 120,000 jobs in March, about half the pace from December through February. Markets were closed Friday, so Monday was investors’ first chance to respond.
Volume was light at 3.1 billion shares. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers by about 4-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange.
