Geopolitical Monitor - Energy Security

December 1, 2008 (AFP) - Wall Street stocks plunged Monday, giving back most of its gains from the past week, amid bleak economic news from around the globe including confirmation of a recession in the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 679.95 points (7.70 percent) to 8,149.09 just after the closing bell, which would represent the fourth-steepest point loss in history for blue chips.

The Nasdaq composite plummeted 137.50 points (8.95 percent) to 1,398.07 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index sank 80.05 points (8.93 percent) to a preliminary close of 816.19.

Market action came as the economic panel recognized as the arbiter of business cycles said the US entered recession in December 2007 based on its measure of income, employment and other factors.

Also, a survey of the manufacturing sector showed the weakest conditions since 1982.

European markets were also sharply weaker, as the rally from last week came to a grinding halt.

Jocelynn Drake at Schaeffer's Investment Research said the market responded to "a round of weak economic data around the globe that has stoked concerns that we may not have seen the worst of the economic slowdown."

Tags:  Economy - America - North - European Union - World - United States