Stock Market Closing Prices – 2/04/10

Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJIA ) Close – 10002.18 -268.37
Nasdaq Stock Market Close – 2125.43 -65.48
S&P 500 Close – 1063.11 -34.17

Commodities Closing Prices – 2/04/10

Gold Close – 1064.50 -2.10
Oil Close – 73.37 -0.23
Natural Gas – 5.43

A flood of bad news, including rising debt levels in European nations and an unexpected jump in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits, had investors pulling money out of assets like stocks and commodities that look increasingly risky. Fears of more disappointing news Friday, when the government issues its January employment report, contributed to the slide.

The Labor Department said Thursday that claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to 480,000 last week. The news disappointed investors who had hoped for a drop. It was the fourth increase in the past five weeks.

The Dow broke last weeks low and is now testing 10,000. The big question is tomorrow’s unemployment report or weather the market continues to drop?