Ten days ago, Joe Magyer described Google as “the world’s scariest stock.”  He may have been laughed at as a result, since the search giant proceeded to gain about $60 per share.  It’s now lost around $40, though, and investors have to be feeling decidedly uneasy.

Google's Stock Slips $40

Google opened at $734.80, and by one o’clock, had dipped as low as $677.18.  After people ate lunch - or lost it - they seem to have regained some confidence, as the stock climbed up to close at $693.84.

While we watched this mini-catastrophe take place, we monitored all the official blogs and out-of-the-way sources, but there was nothing to suggest what was behind the drop.  Unfortunately, there still isn’t.  Nothing specific, anyway.  Yet there are a couple of clues.

A big one is the state of America’s economy.  The Dow Jones and Nasdaq weren’t hurt as badly today as yesterday, but some of the effect may have found its way to Google.  Weakness in the housing market and the dollar itself, the price of oil . . . none of this is good.  Henry Blodget thinks there might also have been a “collective realization that Google is likely not immune to a recession.”

After admiring Google’s stockowners for several years, the people who aren’t among them will probably find themselves taking a lot fewer Tums.  And going into tomorrow’s trading day, they’ll probably be a lot less scared.

Tags: Google, Stock Market