Friday, March 7, 2008

Job report sinks stocks

Stocks were down largely based on the negative job report suggesting we are already in a recession. Dow was down 146 to 11.9K (yes, it broke 12,000), losers outnumbered advancers 2-1 & NAZ was down 8. There were 396 new lows on the NYSE. As bad as the numbers sound, it wasn't that bad for beaten up stocks. REITs were up, bargain hunting helped. Financials did fairly well, betting that the FED moves announced this AM will help. However, some worry the FED is doing everything it can but that's not helping. MLPs continued their decline, down 2.97 to 286.56. Oil closed over 105. Thornburg Mortgage (TMA) is on the verge of failing which will only add to bad debts at major financial institutions.

Comparisons are being tossed around between this bear market & the major one early in the decade. This one isn't as big (yet) but it has fallen at a faster rate & it's not over yet. We'll see what next week brings.

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