Stocks Inch Up After Plunge

(NEWSER) - Stocks plunged at the open, as banks sold shares to raise capital, and consumer and commodity stocks took a pounding, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow was down 140, the Nasdaq down 1.8% and the S&P off 2.1. Oil producers were hit hard as crude fell blow $58 a barrel, while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley led financials south, falling 3% and 2% respectively. More»

(NEWSER) - Swine flu fears, and negative reports about the banks left investors feeling ill this morning. The Dow fell 65 points, while Nasdaq fell 0.8% and the S&P 0.9%. Bank of America and Citigroup were headed south, down 7.5% and 6.2% respectively on reports that they’d need to raise capital following poor stress test showings. Airlines were also lower. Overseas, swine flu fears pushed the Nikkei down 2.7%. More»

(NEWSER) - More bankruptcy rumblings from General Motors sent stocks down early today, but the blow was cushioned by good news from the financial sector, the Wall Street Journal reports. Citi and Bank of America had double-digit gains ahead of what are expected to be solid earnings reports. The Dow finished down 25.57 at 8,057.81; the Nasdaq rose 0.77, to 1,653.31; and the S&P 500 gained 2.17 to 858.73. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks turned south this morning, as a series of downgrades and bad news for the Sun/IBM deal spooked investors ahead of earnings season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow dropped 92, the S&P 12. Financials sank after a veteran analyst downgraded 11 major US banks. The Nasdaq fell 33, after a downgrade from Cisco and a report that the Sun takeover deal was in jeopardy. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks sprinted out of the gates today, the Wall Street Journal reports, spurred by the Treasury’s long-awaited toxic asset plan. The Dow was up 316 just after noon, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 4.1% and 4.5%, respectively. Banking stocks were the biggest winners, with Citigroup up 24%, and Bank of America up 15%. The gains follow similar moves overseas, with several Asian indexes surged 3% or more. More»