Manufacturing Data Drives U.S. Stocks Down

U.S. stocks plummeted Wednesday, with the Dow blue-chip index losing 2.2%, after data showed fresh weakness in the jobs and manufacturing sectors.

After a four-session winning streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 279.12 points (2.22%) to 12,290.67 in closing trade.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 30.66 points (2.28%) to 1,314.54, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 66.11 points (2.33%) to 2,769.16.

The data vexing Wall Street included the Institute for Supply Management's latest PMI Index, which slipped from 60.4% in April to 53.5% in May.

See Also:

• "Drop in Manufacturing in April is Worrisome"