US stocks sent reeling by high unemployment rate (Update)

Update includes European, Latin American and Asian markets also sliding NEW YORK: A dour report on job losses in June sent stocks sharply lower Thursday. Major stock indexes fell more than 2.6 percent after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate hit a 26-year high. The Dow Jones industrials closed at their lowest level in six weeks. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was extended until 4:15 p.m. Eastern time (2015 GMT) in order to execute customer orders impacted by system irregularities, an NYSE spokeswoman said. As investors sold off stocks amid fresh concerns about the economy, they moved into the safety of bonds, pushing Treasury yields lower. Recession-weary employers in the U.S. slashed 467,000 jobs in June, the Labor Department reported, far worse than the 363,000 that economists expected and a grim signal... [read full story]                    

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