NYSE's Grasso: Monday could be rough day for stocks
(Reuters 07/21 11:18:12)
WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The head of the New York
Stock Exchange cautioned on Sunday that Wall Street could face
a rough ride when stock markets open this week but urged
investors to stay calm and focus on the long term.
"Mondays following Friday declines have always been
difficult and I suspect tomorrow will be no different," Richard
Grasso, chairman of the world's No. 1 exchange, told NBC's Meet
the Press.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average sank to 1998
lows, crumbling 390 points, or 4.6 percent.
A slew of corporate accounting scandals have left investors
deeply mistrustful, prompting them to dump equities.
Over the the past two weeks, the Dow has fallen in every
session but one, losing 14 percent of its value. Other market
gauges have also fallen to multiyear lows as well.
With the Dow perched just above the psychological threshold
of 8,000, Grasso made a plea for investors to keep a cool head
and think about long-term goals like saving for retirement or
their children's college education.
"Please be patient," he prodded. "Please don't do something
that emotionally feels good but in the long term will be a
mistake."
He noted that over the long haul stocks outperform
fixed-income assets.
The New York Stock Exchange chairman also urged tough
measures to crack down on corporate managers who commit fraud.
((Caren Bohan, Washington newsroom, 202-898-8433, fax
202-898-8383)) |
