Major U.S. stock indices are down nearly one percent today as the Institute for Supply Management said that its service index dropped to 52.8 in April from 57.3 the month before. It was the biggest monthly drop in over two years. Economists were actually expecting the ISM service index to increase to 57.8. The disappointing economic data gave bearish investors another reason to sell the recent stock market rally, and raised concerns of the upcoming jobs report the government is scheduled to release this Friday. Disappointing earnings reports from some of the largest companies in the U.S., as well as the sell in May crowd repositioning their portfolio, had already sparked a sell-off of the market earlier this week. Commodities have also been dropping as oil prices have sank to $111 per barrel on higher supplies, and gold and silver prices have cooled off on their hot streak.

Major U.S. Stock Indices

DJIA: 12,687.14 (-0.94 percent)
S&P 500: 1,343.64 (-0.98 percent)
Nasdaq: 2,816.01 (-0.91 percent)
Russell 2000: 745.64 (-1.07 percent)

In other news:

  • Looks like the Raj Rajaratnam and Galleon Group insider trading case is going to get drawn out even longer. [WSJ]
  • Is this the end of the gold and silver bubble? SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) have seen steep declines this week. [The Street]
  • The SEC and CFTC don’t believe they have the right tools to properly monitor and regulate the market. [Marketwatch]
  • The world’s second largest economy is ready to open up its wallet. but could the U.S. miss the boat on China’s big investments over the next few years? [NY Times]
  • Well at least Deustche Bank can rest easy knowing that they might not be the only ones getting sued by the U.S. government for making bad mortgages. [Bloomberg]
  • Portugal’s official bailout is expected to total about $116 billion with another two years of recession. [Forbes]

Check back for more news.