Published: July 02, 2009 11:42 am      

Stocks fall as June job losses exceed estimates

By STEPHEN BERNARD and IEVA M. AUGSTUMS

AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — A dour report on job losses is sending stocks sharply lower.

Major stock indexes are down more than 2 percent Thursday after the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 26-year high. European markets were also down following similarly disappointing data.

Recession-weary employers in the U.S. slashed 467,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported. It is sending a grim signal that the path to recovery will be bumpy.

The closely watched report is disappointing investors who had become encouraged by positive signs on the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 177.01, or 2.1 percent, to 8,326.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 21.08, or 2.3 percent, to 902.25. The Nasdaq composite index fell 44.74, or 2.4 percent, to 1,800.98.