Grim news on jobs sinks stocks

Dow tumbled on the opening & continued to hug the 8.3K level (down over 500 from the interim high 3 weeks ago) all day. Dow fell 223 (closing at the lows), decliners over advancers 4-1 & NAZ fell 49. As market leaders, banks also sold off from the start. While volume was low, the 4% decline was significant:

S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX

Value 153.55

Change -6.41

% Change -4.0%

Citigroup (C) used to be a major financial when it was in the Dow & earned profits. Now it's just a call with the gov owning a large portion of all the calls. Back in Mar, it fell to 1 where it was a good buy. It shot up to 4 after the market lows, but since then has pulled back under 3 (today down 9¢ to 2.88).

Citigroup ---- YTD




The high yield sector sold off along with the markets. The Alerian MLP Index was down 2 to 222, The REIT index dropped a big 7.61. Junk bond funds were down while Treasuries rose. The yield on the 10 year Treasury bond dropped 5 basis points to just under 3.50%. The VIX, volatility index, shot up 1.73 to 27.95, an early indication fears may be rising again.


Alerian MLP Index --- 2 weeks




Dow Jones REIT Index --- 2 weeks




VIX ---- 1 month




Oil was weak today, but on light trading. The 72 high is getting farther away.

CLQ09.NYM

..Crude Oil Aug 09

..66.70

.. 2.61 ......(3.8%)

The unemployment report sank stocks from the beginning of trading & they never recovered. However volume was very light, one of the lightest days in some time. NYSE floor volume looks to be only .6B+, i.e. very low. Next week, when traders return in full force, we'll see how the unemployment report really plays out. My guess is the markets will be on defense. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday weekend!!

Dow Jones Industrials --- 2 weeks

Happy 4th of July!!