Negative economic news slams Dow below 12,000

NEW YORK, March 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks plunged on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending below 12,000, amid a flurry of negative economic news.

Thursday's sell-off was across the board. All 10 sectors in Standard & Poor's 500 Index settled in the red, with energy and financials leading the decline.

The only stock closed up in the 30 Dow components was McDonald' s, gaining 1.19 percent, after equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on the company in a research note to investors on Thursday.

Investors got bad news from several angles on Thursday. Before the opening bell, the Labor Department said the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000 last week.

The increase came after applications hit their lowest level in nearly three years, and investors expected that the decline will continue as the economy improves.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said Thursday that the January deficit jumped 15.1 percent to 46.3 billion U.S. dollars, the largest in six months, due to higher oil prices and stronger demand for cars and machinery.

Adding to the weakness, Moody's Investors Service slashed Spain 's rating by one notch to Aa2 and warned that a further downgrade is possible if indications emerge that Spain's fiscal targets will be missed, and if the public debt ratio increases more rapidly than currently expected.

Moreover, China reported an unexpected 7.3-billion-dollar trade deficit for the month of February, spurring worries that the Chinese economy was slowing down.

As of Thursday's close, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 228.41 points, or 1.87 percent, to 11,984.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 24.91 points, or 1.89 percent, to 1,295. 11. The Nasdaq declined 50.70 points, or 1.84 percent, to 2,701.02.

On other market, U.S. crude oil fell on Thursday as dollar strengthened on European debt woes. Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 1.68 dollars to settle at 102.70 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.