Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Fear Returns for Quarter's Final Act


The second quarter's biggest worries took an unwelcome curtain call on Tuesday, hitting global markets.

The trifecta of trouble—European debt woes, China's slowing growth and the stagnating U.S. recovery—conspired to put the quarter on the cusp of being the worst for U.S. stocks in more than a year.

All three concerns flared anew in a grim highlight reel just ahead of the quarter's end. In response, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 268.22 points, or 2.65%, to 9870.30, its first close below 10000 since early June.

The blue-chip average is on pace to fall more than 9% in the quarter, which ends on Wednesday. This would be the Dow's first losing quarter since the first quarter of 2009, when a prolonged bull market began. The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index has lost roughly $1.5 trillion in value in the quarter so far. (more)

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