NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled Thursday, with the Dow losing 212 points, after a worse-than-expected jobs report hammered hopes that the economy is close to stabilizing.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 212 points, or 2.5%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 27 points, or 2.9% and the Nasdaq (COMP) fell 49 points, or 2.7%.

The New York Stock Exchange extended trading until 4:15 p.m. ET, so as to allow customers to put through orders that were impacted by system irregularities. The NYSE did not specify what the irregularities were.

Stocks tumbled at the open and remained in the red throughout the session as investors considered the broader implications of the dismal June jobs report.

"The report was kind of a rude awakening and unfortunately I think there's more to come," said Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading.

"People are realizing that the stock market rally doesn't mean the economy is coming back."

Since bottoming at a 12-year low, the S&P 500 had surged over 40% through June 11. But in the weeks since then, it has lost 5% of that.

Jobs report: Employers cut 467,000 jobs from their payrolls in June, after cutting 322,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That made June the first month in four in which job losses rose from the previous month. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 365,000 job losses.

The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, rose to 9.5% from 9.4%, short of forecasts for an increase to 9.6%.

"The report was terrible," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc."It's telling us that there is a lot more pain than people realize that we are going to have to get through before there can be a recovery."

On the move: Declines were broad based, with all 30 Dow stocks falling, led by oil components Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500). IBM (IBM, Fortune 500), Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500), Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500), United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500) and Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) were the other big losers.

Economically sensitive trucking and railroad stocks plunged, dragging down the Dow Jones Transportation (DJT) average by 3.7%.

Financial shares tumbled, including Dow components American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Travelers Companies (TRV, Fortune 500).

Market breadth was negative and volume was light with Wall Street pros checking out early for the holiday. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners by over four to one on volume of 733 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers five to one on volume of 1.95 billion shares.

All financial markets are closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

Weak start to new quarter: Stocks climbed Wednesday on the first day of the third quarter as investors found some encouragement in the day's housing and manufacturing reports. But the advance lost steam Thursday, with the jobs report giving investors a reason to retreat after a strong second quarter.

In the April-through-June period, the S&P 500 gained 15.2%, its best quarter in more than a decade. The Dow rose 11% and the Nasdaq 20%. Both indexes posted their best quarters since the second of 2003. Stocks rallied on hopes that the economy was starting to stabilize after the six months of panic that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.

But lately, stocks have churned on concerns that the market got ahead of itself.

Economic news: Normally a market mover, the weekly jobless claims report was overshadowed by the June payrolls report.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment fell to 614,000 last week from a revised 630,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported. Economists thought claims would fall to 615,000.

May factory orders rose 1.2%, the Commerce Department reported, versus forecasts for a rise of 0.9%. Factory orders rose a revised 0.5% in April.

Company news: In deal news, Exelon (EXC, Fortune 500) has sweetened its hostile takeover offer for rival power generator NRG Energy (NRG, Fortune 500). The all-stock offer is $8 billion versus the previous offer of $7 billion.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) will take an 18% equity stake in biotech Elan (ELN) in exchange for a $1 billion investment. J&J will also buy Elan's share of its Alzheimer's disease treatment program with Wyeth.

U.S.-traded shares of Elan gained 11% in active New York Stock Exchange trading.

Commodities: Energy prices tumbled, with U.S. light crude oil for August delivery falling $2.37 to $66.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery fell $10.60 to settle at $930.70 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rallied, lowering the benchmark 10-year note yield to 3.5% from 3.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Other markets: In global trade, Asian and European markets ended lower.

In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and fell against the yen. 

At 4:05 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were lower.

Futures measure current index values against the perceived future performance.

On Wednesday, Wall Street started the third quarter with a modest rally. Reports on manufacturing and housing indicated that the pace of the recession is slowing.

All financial markets are closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

Economic reports: The June employment report is due out from the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. ET. Employers are expected to have cut 365,000 jobs from their payrolls after cutting a much smaller-than-expected 345,000 in the previous month.

The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, is expected to have risen to 9.6% from a 26-year high of 9.4% in May.

The government will also release its weekly initial claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET, measuring the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. The measure is expected to dip to 615,000 from 627,000 the week before.

After the start of trading, the Commerce Department will release the May factory orders report. Orders are expected to have risen 0.9% after climbing 0.7% in April.

World markets: Asian markets ended lower Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.6%. European markets were down more than 1% in early trading.

Oil and money: The price of oil eased 26 cents to $69.05 a barrel. The dollar was higher against major currencies.  

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Strong overseas markets and a rally in oil prices and oil stocks were among the factors boosting Wall Street at the open Wednesday, the first day of the third quarter.

The early strength overshadowed any worries about a worse-than-expected reading on private-sector employment.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 70 points, or 0.8%, in the early going. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 7 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) gave up 13 points, or 0.7%.

On Tuesday, stocks fell on a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence report and a slump in oil prices.

Nevertheless, it was the end of a positive quarter for the markets. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 15%, marking its best quarter since the final three months of 1998.

Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst for Avalon Partners, said that U.S. futures were following the lead of market gains in China, which were fueled by positive manufacturing data, as well as advances in Europe.

"We're taking our cue off Europe in anticipation of the economic data," said Cardillo.

Employment reports: A report from payroll firm ADP, released at 8:15 a.m. ET, said private-sector jobs decreased by 473,000 in June - worse than the 394,000 cuts expected.

The report is seen as a precursor to the more widely watched government employment report due Thursday.

But outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said the number of job cuts announced in June fell for the fifth straight month, to 74,393. That's down 33% from May and 9% from the same time a year ago.

Economic reports on tap: Pending home sales, due out at 10 a.m. ET from the National Association of Realtors, is forecast to be unchanged in May after rising 6.7% in April.

Also at 10 a.m. ET, the Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing index is expected to have risen to 44.6 from 42.8 in May, according to forecasts.

May construction spending, released by the Commerce Department at 10 a.m. ET, is expected to have fallen 0.6% after posting a surprise rise of 0.8% in April.

The weekly crude oil inventories report from the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to be released midway through the morning. June auto and truck sales are due throughout the day.

General Motors: Bankruptcy court hearings continued for a second day for the Chapter 11 filing of automaker GM (GMGMQ). Judge Robert Gerber may rule on whether to approve the bankruptcy, which would allow GM to leave behind certain assets and liabilities to form a new company.

General Mills: Food producer General Mills (GIS, Fortune 500) said strong cereal sales help drive quarterly net profit to $1.07 per share, double the profit for the year-ago period.

World markets: Asian markets slipped Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index down 0.8%. European markets rose more than 1% in afternoon trading.

Oil and money: The price of oil jumped $1.80 to $71.69 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar was higher against the yen, but lower versus the euro and British pound.  

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied Monday, with oil and technology shares leading the way as investors scooped up shares hit in the recent retreat, at the start of a holiday-shortened trading week.

Also in focus was Bernard Madoff, who was sentenced to the maximum 150 years in prison for orchestrating the biggest Ponzi scheme in modern history.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 91 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 8 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) added 6 points, or 0.3%.

All financial markets are closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday weekend. Ahead of that, a slew of economic reports are due, including readings on housing, manufacturing and the labor market.

Stocks are likely to be volatile this week due to the confluence of the holiday, the heavy spate of economic news and the quarter end, said Brian Battle, vice president at Performance Trust Capital Partners.

"Trading will be thinner than usual, particularly toward the end of the week, with a lot of guys taking off early ahead of the holiday," Battle said. "It's going to be very whippy and we shouldn't pay too much attention to 100-point swings."

Stocks could benefit Monday and Tuesday from some end-of-quarter machinations as market pros look to "window dress" their portfolios before closing the books. Generally, that impact is positive as money managers look to add the quarter's big winners to their portfolios.

Regarding the Madoff verdict, Battle said that Wall Street will be relieved that he got the maximum. But he said there may be concern that the scandal will mean increased government regulation of money management.

The Dow and S&P 500 have closed lower for the last two weeks as a more than 3-month rally has lost steam. The S&P 500 had surged more than 40% on bets that the economy is close to stabilizing. But worries that stocks have risen too far, too fast have dragged on sentiment lately.

The Nasdaq inched higher last week after falling the week before.

Reports are due Tuesday on consumer confidence, regional manufacturing and home prices.

On the move: Of the 30 Dow issues, 29 rose, with Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) the lone decliner.

Rising oil prices boosted Dow oil components Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500). Other big Dow gainers included Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), United Technologies (UTX, Fortune 500), Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500), Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) and 3M (MMM, Fortune 500).

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs is back on the job after a nearly 6-month medical leave, the company said Monday. Jobs is reportedly in the office a few days a week and working from home the other days.

Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) is buying fellow energy company Teppco Partners (TPP) in a $3.3 billion deal that creates the largest U.S. publicly traded energy partnership.

Watson Wyatt Worldwide (WW) will merge with fellow consulting firm Towers Perrin in an all-stock deal valued at $3.5 billion. The combined company will be called Towers Watson.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers three to two on volume of 1.07 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers seven to six on volume of 2.04 billion shares.

Bonds: Treasury prices rallied, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note falling to 3.48% from 3.54% Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Other markets: In global trade, Asian markets ended lower and European markets ended higher.

U.S. light crude oil for August delivery rose $2.33 or 3.4% to settle at $71.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery fell 30 cents to settle at $940.70 an ounce.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.