Spooked Stocks Dip Slightly

Dow off more than 200 after Nikkei falls 11%

(NEWSER) - Stocks around the world plummeted today, thanks to huge losses in Japan, where the Nikkei Stock Average fell a whopping 11%, completing its biggest two-day drop since 1987. That prompted big Asian and European sell-offs, especially in Germany, where the DAX 30 fell 4.5% in interday trading. In the US, the Dow opened off 246 points, likewise, the S&P shed 33 and the Nasdaq fell 64, according to the Wall Street Journal . More»

(NEWSER) - The ugly news on consumer spending cast a pall over Wall Street throughout today’s session, the Financial Times reports, pushing all three major indices down more than 2%. The unexpected dip in retail sales was particularly hard on retailers Target, Lowe’s, and Office Depot. The Dow finished off 184.22 at 8,284.89; the Nasdaq ended down 51.73, to 1,664.19; and the S&P 500 dropped 24.44, to 883.91. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks hit the brakes hard this morning, after the Obama administration’s auto task force panned GM and Chrysler’s proposed reconstruction plans. The Dow was down 298 points by late morning, while the S&P and Nasdaq had tumbled 59 and 31 points respectively. GM plummeted 25%, falling below $3. Financials, meanwhile, were falling, in response to huge selloffs overseas. The Nikkei fell 4.5%, the Hang Seng 4.8%, and the Sensex 4.9%. More»

Panic grips the street

(NEWSER) - Stocks continued their rocky ride this morning, plunging more than 600 points after the opening bell before rebounding, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Dow, in what the Journal calls a “slow-motion crash,” was down about 250 points after the first hour. The Nasdaq and S&P followed similar paths. Today's developments followed huge losses overseas, as Japan’s Nikkei fell 9.6%, Germany’s DAX fell 9.8%, and the Vienna exchange took a trade-suspending 10% hit. More»

Last time it did so: May 20, 2008

(NEWSER) - Huge milestone today: The Dow crossed the 13,000 mark, the first time since before the 2008 financial crisis that it has done so. The last time it made it above that milestone was on May 20, 2008, four months before Lehman Brothers went under. Behind today's bump: the finalized bailout deal for Greece, and strong corporate earnings reports from the likes of Home Depot, reports the AP . More»