European and Asian markets were all down on Thursday and U.S. markets ended up following the trend with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 41.49 points at 9,732.53.
Concerns about job losses stemming from an offshore drilling ban as well as the potential loss of drillers were one reason that U.S. markets fell. Another reason was the report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) which showed May home sales dropping a total of 30%. While investors expected a drop in May since home buying tax credits expired in April, 30% is a much larger number than even the most pessimistic expected to see. This fall in sales brought the NAR’s tracking index to its lowest level ever—which does not bode well for the future of home sales this year. Furthering investor fear was the unemployment report released by the U.S. Labor Department which stated that unemployment claims rose during the last full week of June. While an increase in unemployment claims does not mean that we are headed for economic disaster, it does mean that we may be further away from recovery than many would like. Consumer confidence is at a low, so there may be a pull back in spending that will work to increase unemployment even further in the weeks to come.
The Nasdaq closed down 7.88 points today to close at 2,101.36 and the S&P 500 fell 3.34 points to 1,027.37.
