On the heels of a disappointing announcement from ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday, US stocks continued their downward spiral as investors faced dashed hopes that the European Central Bank would take swift action to resolve the region’s debt crisis. Draghi noted that the bank would be willing to hold down borrowing costs by purchasing government bonds if necessary, though such a move may not come as quickly as he’d indicated only last week. European stock indexes began to fall even as Draghi was speaking, and the decline rolled over into the US trading session.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.71 to 12,878.88, while the S&P 500 Index fell 10.14 points to 1,365.00. Thursday marked the fourth straight day of losses for the major indexes, totaling over 1.5 percent losses in total. The NFP report scheduled for release later today is expected to reveal additionally dismal findings, as US manufacturers are facing decreased demand which has resulted in slower than anticipated job creation which is critical to help the economy recover. Although August tends to be a relatively slow time in the markets worldwide, there’s no question that this week’s events added an unsavory twist to what would normally have been a relatively uneventful week.