Stocks Trip Over Bad Econ Data

The bears came out on Wall Street this morning, sending the Dow down 181 at the bell, as a host of negative economic reports drowned out some positive third-quarter results. Retail sales were worse than expected in September, and several other indexes showed manufacturing activity down. The S&P and Nasdaq dropped 2.9% and 1.9% respectively.

Coca-Cola posted a 14% boost in profits, while JPMorgan reported an 85% decline but still managed to pull out a profit; both were better than analysts predicted. Their shares rose 6.9% and 3.2% respectively in pre-market trading. “We do expect the shares to bounce on these better-than-feared results/guidance,” said one analyst. “We continue to believe, however, that a sustainable rally is not likely.” (More stock market stories.)