Market Summary

Stocks fell for the fourth straight day on Friday as weak jobs data gave more evidence the economic recovery would be less robust than expected. The decline marked the second consecutive weekly loss for Wall Street, and not the most encouraging of starts to the fourth quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.61 points, or 0.23 %, to close at 9,487.67. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 4.64 points, or 0.45 %, to 1,025.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 9.37 points, or 0.46 %, to 2,048.11. Stocks were down well over 100 points after the release of the report, however buyers entered the market, propelling the S&P to hold 1015 claw its way to only modest losses.

September Employment Situation

Employers cut 263,000 jobs from their payrolls in September after cutting a revised 201,000 in August, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. Economists were expecting 175,000 jobs cuts. The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, rose to 9.8%, a 26-year high. That was in line with economists’ forecasts and up from the 9.7% rate in August.

It seems as though the release of the report, which is the first Friday of the month, always gets investors thinking whether the rally in the market is justified based on the current employment reality. Since the March lows, the S&P 500 has gained 51.2%, the Dow has gained 45%, while the Nasdaq has gained nearly 61%.

In addition, factory orders plunged in August versus forecasts for a rise. The Commerce Department said factory orders fell 0.8%, following a rise of 1.4% in July.

You will hear more and more now of a double dip recession, where we will see positive growth in the last 2 quarters of 2009, led by government spending; then a decline back into negative territory.