U.S. stocks dropped for the second straight day, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 500 points at midday Wednesday, as more data added to concerns of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy. The ADP Employment Report showed fewer-than-expected workers were hired in September, spooking investors ahead of Friday’s more comprehensive Labor Department report. Investors had already been on edge after a report on Tuesday from the Institute for Supply Management showed the U.S. manufacturing sector in the midst of its worst slump in more than a decade. This week’s bad economic news has led to a disappointing start to the last quarter of the year – the first two days of October wiping out all of the third-quarter gains for the Dow and S&P 500. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, blamed the downturn on the House impeachment probe, saying in a tweet on Wednesday that it’s driving stocks and Americans’ 401Ks down and that Democrats “are willing to hurt the Country, with only the 2020 Election in mind!”
