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Market’s August lull nears an end; stocks fall

Published: 
Friday, August 31, 2012

 

NEW YORK—The late-summer lull is about to end. Stocks fell yesterday, with investors too worried about high gas prices and stagnant employment to be impressed by higher consumer spending. But trading volume was light, the market’s direction was steady, and there wasn’t much in the way of major economic news. That could all change Friday. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak at this morning and investors will be listening closely for his opinion on the economy and whether the Fed will take more action to try to prop it up.
 
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 106.77 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 13,000.71. The Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 11.01, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,399.48. The Nasdaq composite slid 32.48, or 1.05 per cent, to 3,048.71. In Europe, a survey of sentiment suggested the region was heading for recession. Germany’s DAX closed down 1.64 per cent to 6,895. The FTSE index of leading British shares, meanwhile, fell 0.4 per cent to 5,719, and France’s CAC-40 dropped 1 per cent, to 3,379. (AP) 
 
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