Stocks Fade as Traders Worry About Unemployment (ext: ABCNews)

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as jitters about the economy prompted investors to unload some shares for a fourth-straight day even after a sharp drop in the previous session.

Major indexes fluctuated between positive and negative territory throughout the day before closing in the red, with S&P 500 posting its worst losing streak since late May.

A labor-market report showing more private-sector job losses in August than forecast made investors nervous ahead of Friday's highly anticipated monthly jobs data from the U.S. Labor Department.

The weak data also prompted stock investors to shift some of their money into assets deemed safe such as precious metals, sending gold futures up to their highest level in almost three months.

"Investors are turning to gold as a hedge" against financial malady, said Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co in Florham Park in New Jersey.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) closed down 29.93 points, or 0.32 percent, at 9,280.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) lost 3.29 points, or 0.33 percent, to 994.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) fell 1.82 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,967.07.


Analysts said the market's ability to avoid another steep drop was a good sign but cautioned that trading volume remains light ahead of the Labor Day holiday. Weak volume can skew the market's moves and makes it difficult to draw conclusions about investor sentiment.