Jobs report keeps stocks reeling

NEW YORK – The Dow Jones industrial average dropped for a seventh straight day, its longest losing streak since the height of the financial crisis in October 2008. A disappointing jobs report added to investors’ concerns that the economic recovery is losing steam.

The Dow ended down 46 points Friday after the government said private employers added only 83,000 jobs last month, fewer than the 112,000 analysts had forecast. The Dow and other major indexes posted big losses for a second straight week.

Light trading ahead of the long Independence Day weekend brought choppy moves, particularly in the final hour. The Dow was essentially flat in the last five minutes before sliding just before the close.

Pessimism has been growing since late April about the health of the economy. The Dow dropped 10 percent for the second quarter, which ended Wednesday, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 11.9 percent.

The Dow close at 9,686.48 was its lowest since Oct. 5, 2009. The Dow is now down 13.6 percent from its 2010 high of 11,205.03, while the S&P 500 is down 16 percent from its high of 1,217.28.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 9.57, or 0.5 percent, Friday to 2,091.79.

Demand for Treasurys weakened after spiking earlier in the week as investors sought a safe place for their money. The yield on the 10-year note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.98 percent from 2.95 percent late Thursday. Its yield is used as a benchmark for interest rates on some mortgages and other consumer loans.

Crude oil fell 81 cents to $72.14 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold rose.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 5.79, or 1 percent, to 598.97. The Russell dropped 7.2 percent for the week.

Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.4 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.1 percent.