Stocks on Wall Street have climbed out of a slump as disappointing jobs and housing reports weighed on the market.At mid-afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 45 points, or 0.5%, at 9728. The measure's financial components led its earlier d
Stocks on Wall Street have climbed out of a slump as disappointing jobs and housing reports weighed on the market.
At mid-afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 45 points, or 0.5%, at 9728. The measure's financial components led its earlier decline, though their losses softened. Bank of America fell 2.7%, JP Morgan Chase slid 2% and American Express shed 0.9%.
Consumer stocks checked some of the losses. McDonald's rose 0.8%, while AT&T gained 0.5%. Microsoft advanced 0.7%.
The Nasdaq Composite is down 0.5% to 2099. The S&P 500 index slid 0.3% to 1028, with the health-care and financial sectors lagging.
Ford Motor also rose 3.3% after reporting better-than-expected sales of light vehicles.
In economic data, US pending-home sales plunged 30% in May, the first month after the homebuyer tax credit expired.
The Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing index declined more than expected, to 56.2 in June, down from 59.7 in May. Economists were expecting a reading of 59.0 in June.
The number of US workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 13,000 to 472,000 in the week ended June 26. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected claims would fall by 2000.
Other markets: Europe, Asia down
European stocks started the third quarter in a slide. Weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data was the catalyst for a downturn in equities.
China's purchasing managers index fell to 52.1 in June from 53.9 in May, marking the second straight month of slower growth.
Basic resources took the brunt of the selling as base metals prices declined. ArcelorMittal fell 2.9% in Paris and Randgold Resources lost 5.4% in London.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 2.5% at 237.30. France's CAC-40 index lost 3% at 3339.90, Germany's DAX fell 1.8% to 5857.43, and the UK's FTSE 100 index slid 2.3% to 4805.75, a 2010 closing low.
Economic concerns led Asian stocks lower again. Japanese stocks tumbled for a fifth straight session, even as the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey showed that large manufacturers' business sentiment turned positive for the first time in two years.
The Nikkei Stock Average fell 2% to end at 9191.60, its lowest closing level since late November.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 1% to 2373.79, Korea's Kospi gave up 0.7% to 1686.24, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.5% to 4237.46, Taiwan's Taiex lost 1% to 7254.06 and India's Sensex gave up 1.1% to 17,509.33. The Hong Kong stock market was closed for a holiday.
