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M. Continuo

Wall St. slides as economy falters


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed out their worst January ever with another slide on Friday after data showed the economy contracted in the fourth quarter at the fastest pace in nearly 27 years.

    The basic materials sector slid and the S&P materials index fell 3.7 percent

    The Dow Jones industrial average lost 148.15 points, or 1.82 percent, to end unofficially at 8,000.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index declined 19.26 points, or 2.28 percent, to 825.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 31.42 points, or 2.08 percent, to 1,476.42.

    For the month, the Dow unofficially dropped 8.8 percent, while the S&P 500 skidded 8.6 percent and the Nasdaq shed 6.4 percent.

    (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)