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Wall Street plunges on disappointing data

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-05 17:34

Wall Street slid into bear territory on Thursday with Dow Jones down more than 340 points as disappointing jobless and retail data left investors in doubt of a come-back in US economy.

Major US retailers reported poor August sales. While Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, beat expectations due to its discounts, many retailers said consumers cut spending last month because of higher gas and food prices. Analysts believed that consumers are spending mostly on essentials, and have put their discretionary buying on hold.

Also on Thursday the US Labor Department reported that initial jobless benefits claims rose 15,000 to 444,000 last week, which was the first rise in four weeks. Economists had expected the number to drop slightly to 420,000. The report made investors pessimistic on the government's August employment report which is scheduled to be released on Friday.

The drop in crude oil prices failed to lift the stocks. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.46 to settle at $107.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as a less-than-expected drop in the US gasoline stockpiles signaled a cooling domestic demand for fuel. Energy shares fell.

The Dow Jones slid 344.65 to 11,188.23. Broader indexes also tumbled. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 38.16 to 1,236.82 and the Nasdaq dropped 74.69 to 2,259.04.