Will Stocks Sink Or Swim After Jobs Data? - Yahoo News/Reuters

<snip>

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Friday's news of a buckling U.S. job market sent stock investors running for the exits, and this week promises to be no less stressful as investors grapple with the increasing possibility of an economic recession.

The weekend will also give investors time to reflect on news U.S. employers cut payrolls by 4,000 jobs last month.

However, it is unlikely that there will be much clarity ahead of the anxiously awaited Federal Reserve interest-rate decision in the coming week, as investors debate whether and by how much the Fed will cut key interest rates.

"The pendulum is going to swing between the euphoria -- we're going to get a rate cut, things are not that bad -- to the world is going to end, we're going into a recession," said John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC in Newark, New Jersey.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) fell 249.97 points, or 1.87 percent, to end at 13,113.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 25.00 points, or 1.69 percent, at 1,453.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 48.62 points, or 1.86 percent, at 2,565.70.

The Dow was down 1.8 percent for the week, while the S&P 500 was 1.4 percent lower and the Nasdaq was down 1.2 percent. For the S&P, it was the worst week since the beginning of August, while the Dow had its worst week since the week ending July 29.

New economic data will be studied warily for more signs the housing slump and subprime mess is spreading into other sectors of the economy.

"People will be nervous about all economic releases, because Friday's jobs number showed that perhaps things are getting worse quicker than the market had previously believed," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp. in Chicago.

<snip>

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070909/bs_nm/column_stocks_outlook_dc;_ylt=Auav2o_HR6sDNRrQHh02_E2573QA

You can get an idea of what's gonna happen tomorrow by checking here later tonight: http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=asia

:shrug:

I fail to believe that given the overall economic climate that any "investor" was surprised about the jobs report. And if they're reporting a 4,000 job cut last month, we can be sure that in a few months these will be revised down further just as the June and July numbers were.

homebuilders going belly up grease the skids for a bad September, October, and November.

Countrywide and Beazer...