NEW YORK (AP) — August was tough on the stock market. Now, investors face an even scarier September.
Disappointing news on consumer spending helped pull stocks lower Friday in a quiet end to the market's worst month in more than a year.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed August with a loss of 3.1 percent while the Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.4 percent. Both had their biggest one-month drop since May 2012.
The month began on a high note. On Aug. 2, news that unemployment fell to its lowest level in more than four years helped lift the S&P 500 index to a record high of 1,709.67. Then things quickly changed.