US Stocks Again Got Hit Yesterday, With The Dow Slipping Below Last Month’s ‘Flash Crash’ Drop

US stocks pummeled on Wall Street yesterday, with the Dow ending below the May 6 ‘flash crash’ low of 9,869. The major indexes kept stirring sideways in a tight range, only to end in the red in the last half hour of the session as issues about economic growth and the euro weighed on investor sentiment. The news of US consumer credit, excluding real-estate loans, growing by $1 billion in April was another factor that contributed to the drop. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 115.48 points, or 1.2%, to 9,816.49. The S&P 500 Index fell 14.41 points, or 1.4%, to close at 1,050.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 45.27 points, or 2%, to 2,173.90. At the Dow, Bank of America Corp BAC was the worst performer as it plummeted 3.4% to $14.83 after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) declared that BAC will give $108 million to clear up charges on its Countrywide unit for collecting extra fees from borrowers trying hard to retain their homes. Losses at the S&P were led by the financial and technology stocks, which dropped 2% and 1.9%, respectively. According to Duncan-Williams Inc’s senior vice president, Jay Suskind, ‘the looming clouds out there of a global slowdown’ are responsible for the negative investor sentiment rampant in the market currently. Referring to the poor May employment figures, Suskind reflected, "Up until a couple of weeks ago, the U.S. wasn't part of that equation, but with Friday's employment number, it at least enters into the discussion." "Until that oil gets stopped, I think it's more of a problem in the marketplace from an investor-confidence standpoint. Before Friday's number there was a sense of cautious optimism, now there's a pessimistic sense out there," he further added. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.