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Dow Jones plunges more than 400 points
Columbus News.Net
Wednesday 19th November, 2008
U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday, led by shares in U.S. banks and financial institutions.
The big three automakers were also under pressure as traders became frustrated with the Congressional hearings into the proposed bailout for the automaking industry. Chrysler, General Motors and Ford are seeking $25 billion in assistance from the Federal Government.
The CEOs were again on Capitol Hill Wednesday to make their case. Not all lawmakers are in support of the deal.
Gary Ackerman, D-NY, summed up the feeling of some when he told the hearing, "Somebody heard that we're giving out free money in Washington. They're showing up from all over the place. But you don't want to put your last tourniquet on a dead guy."
Shares in GM fell below $3 as investors weighed up the impact of any of the major automakers filing for bankruptcy, and the effect it would have on the wider economy.
Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Citigroup all fell to multi-year lows, with Citigroup closing below $7 a share.
At the close of trading Wednesday the Dow Jones Industrials were down 427.47 points or 5.07% at 7,997.28.
The Nasdaq Composite was off 96.85 points or 6.53% at 1,386.42.
The Standard and Poor's 500 was down 48.17 points or 5.61% at 810.95 just before the close.
Also affecting stocks was data showing U.S. consumer prices fell by a record 1% in October compared with the previous month, their biggest monthly drop in more than 60 years.
On foreign exchange markets the U.S. dollar gained ground as stocks fell.
Around the New York close the euro was quoted at 1.2518. The Japanese yen rose however to 95.92, while the British pound was little changed at 1.4978.
The Swiss franc plummeted to 1.2122, while the Canadian dollar dived to 1.2532. The Australian dollar was sharply lower at .6376.
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