Economic Blues Sink Blue Chips 337 Points

Software maker Sun Microsystems (JAVA Quote) was also hunkering down in anticipation of harsh times, announcing that it would cut 5,000 to 6,000 jobs in an effort to cut costs. Sun shares added 1% to $4.12.

Airplane maker Boeing (BA Quote), meanwhile, said it would delay production and delivery of the new versions of its 747 freighters. Separately, one of Boeing's unions called for a vote on whether to give leadership authority to call a strike. The stock dropped 4.9% to $41.04.

Over in the commodities space, crude oil lost $1.20 to settle at $57.04 a barrel. Gold added $37.50 to close at $742.50 an ounce.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising in price. The 10-year was up 1-2/32 to yield 3.72%, and the 30-year was surging 2-8/32, yielding 4.22%. The dollar was rising vs. the euro and yen but weakening against the pound.

Abroad, European exchanges, including the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt, were working their way higher. The European Union disclosed Friday that the 15 countries that use the euro are in recession.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed with gains.