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To: Enigma who wrote (18380)	9/10/1998 5:43:00 PM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116861

DOW PLUNGES 249 ON LATIN AMERICA COLLAPSE, CLINTON UNRAVEL ÿÿÿÿÿNEW YORK (MktNews) - Worries over financial turbulence in Latin America and its effect on third-quarter earnings, spiced by the spectacle of President Clinton, led to a new collapse in U.S. share prices. ÿÿÿÿÿThe Dow Jones Industrials, down as much as 345 points, fell 249.48 to 7,615.54 on extremely heavy New York Stock Exchange volume of 875 million shares. The S&P 500 fell 26.02 to 980.18, while NYSE decliners dwarfed advancers 2,347 to 776. ÿÿÿÿÿAmong a nest of cuckoos, dealers and analysts pointed to sharp declines in Brazil's market as the key negative for the session. ÿÿÿÿÿBrazil's Bovespa stock index fell nearly 15% Thursday on speculation that the nation may follow Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia and devalue its currency. Other Latin America markets also tailspinned, including Argentina down 13% and Mexico nearly 8%. ÿÿÿÿÿAlready bruised, financial stocks, the singularly most exposed sector to Latin America, fell again. Losers included American Express down 7 3/16 at 69 1/2, Citicorp down 4 9/16 at 88 1/2, BankAmerica down 3 1/4 at 56 1/8, Merrill down 3 3/4 at 55 1/2, and Nationsbank down 3 3/8 at 50 3/8. ÿÿÿÿÿThe global domino collapse -- Japan, Southeast Asia, Russia and now Latin America -- portends difficult times for the U.S. economy, even with a sympathetic Federal Reserve and the prospect of a coordinated G-7 easing. Dealers said talk in the market is centering on third-quarter earnings and whether they have been discounted sufficiently in light of the global crisis. ÿÿÿÿÿThe apparent unraveling of the Clinton presidency was a secondary factor hitting shares. The House of Representatives is seeking immediate release of parts of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report and may soon begin impeachment proceeding. ÿÿÿÿÿOpinion on the impact of the drama is mixed, with some saying it is nearly insignificant compared with the global economic crisis and others that it is a notable uncertainty in the market, though still a secondary factor at most. ÿÿÿÿÿGiven confidence that the Fed and the Republican Congress will maintain steady, predictable policies, few predict that an impeachment or resignation will produce anything more than a knee-jerk selloff that would be quickly recovered. ÿÿÿÿÿCyclicals were among the hardest hit in the session, indicating investor worries over profits. Caterpillar down 2 3/16 at 46, DuPont down 2 3/4 at 55 1/2, and Alcoa down 1 7/16 at 64 15/16. --Mark Pender 17:09 EDT 09/10 c 1998 Market News Service, Inc.