According to JLA, this is a good thing, and a positive accomplishment on the part of Bush:
Dow sees lowest close in 4 years
NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrials crashed through their post-terror attack lows today in a dramatic 390-point selloff, after news of a government investigation at Johnson & Johnson gave already uneasy investors another reason to pull back.
It was the average's seventh biggest point-drop ever, and its lowest close in nearly four years. Analysts attributed the declines to Wall Street's unwillingness to make any bets in a market that appears capable of only falling further.
The Dow was down 390.23, or 4.64 percent, at 8,019.26.
The losses took the average to levels not seen in nearly four years, and created the average's seventh triple-digit loss in ten sessions. Analysts attributed the declines to Wall Street's unwillingness to make any bets in a market that appears capable of only falling farther.
A reconfiguration of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, as well as the expiration of some index and stock options, added to the volatility.
Broader stock indicators, which have been trading below their Sept. 21 lows for a while, also retreated. The Nasdaq composite index fell 37.90, or 2.79 percent, to 1.319.05, and the S&P was off 33.81, or 3.84 percent, at 847.75.
"There is just no good news out there right now, and people are not willing to get involved in the market going into a weekend," said Bryan Piskorowski, market commentator at Prudential Securities. "You've got a buyers' strike going on."
The declines also gave the three major indexes their ninth straight losing week -- and reflected trends that have been doggin stocks for months now. Investors, fed up with accounting scandals and concerned that business isn't recovering strongly or quickly enough, have been unloading shares for fear stock prices will fall further.
Today's news, which included several mixed earnings reports, did little to alleviate those fears.
Johnson & Johnson dropped $8.13 to $41.60 after The New York Times reported that the FDA and the Justice Department investigating a company factory that makes an anemia drug linked to illnesses in Europe and Canada. The company told the newspaper that it was aware of a government investigation, but did not know its precise nature.
A new slew of earnings reports also captured investors' attention.
Merck fell 50 cents to $41.50 after reporting second-quarter results in line with expectations despite a 4 percent drop in profits.
In the tech sector, Microsoft fell $1.85 to $49.26 after beating analysts' expectations but reducing its forecast for later this year.
Sun Microsystems fell $1.61 to $4.19, a new 52-week low, after reporting results in line with expectations, but indicating its current quarter's results are being affected by difficult business conditions.
Financial stocks also pulled back. American Express dropped $1.98 to $31.55.
Declining issues led advancers 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to nearly 1.54 billion shares, compared with 1.32 billion shares at the same point Thursday.
The Russell 2000 index fell 11.32 to 385.39.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average slid 2.8 percent. In Europe, Germany's DAX index fell 5.1 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 4.6 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 5.4 percent. |
