Dow Off 100 as Rate Rally Dies

Stocks turned lower as jubilation over the Fed’s rate cut yesterday died down and concerns about the slumping economy returned today, the Wall Street Journal reports. Losses by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs dragged financials lower. The Dow closed down 99.80 at 8,824.34. The Nasdaq fell 10.58 to close at 1,579.31, and the S&P 500 lost 8.76 to settle at 904.42.

Some investors also worried that ultra-low US interest rates will lead to an ugly slide for the dollar in 2009. The greenback fell against the euro today, and the US Dollar Index, which measures the currency against six others, dropped 1.7%. “They’ve made no bones about the fact that they’re devaluing the dollar to shore up everything else,” one analyst said of the Fed. (More Dow Jones stories.)