2010-07-01 15:49

NEW YORK: Wall Street ended first half of the year on bitter note on Wednesday, with all three major indexes closing at new 2010 lows, as a late-session sell-off erased all earlier gains in the last half an hour of trading.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange June 30, 2010. [Xinhua]

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 96.28, or 0.98 percent, to 9,774.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slumped 10.53, or 1. 01 percent, to 1,030.71 and the Nasdaq was down 25.94, or 1.21 percent, to 2,109.24. All three indexes were settling at their lowest level in the year of 2010.

Additionally, Both the Dow and S&P saw their worst quarter since the first one of 2009, falling about 10 percent and 12 percent respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered its worst quarter since the fourth quarter of 2008.

US stocks opened lower as ADP Employer Services said that US companies widened payrolls by 13,000 in June, far less than the expectations of 60,000. The lame data made investors trade with more caution even in the over-sold market as traders worried that Friday's government monthly payroll may also miss estimates.

Friday's monthly payrolls data were closely watched by traders as high unemployment was now regarded as the biggest obstacle for a sustainable economic recovery. Wall Street economists are predicting the overall number to fall, but they are expecting a gain of 112,000 in private-sector employment.

Major indexes struggled into positive territory after a better- than-expected PMI report provided a breath of hope for the market.