Can 1987's Black Monday Happen Again?

Wall Street is facing one of its worst bear markets since World War II

(NEWSER) - An increasingly familiar Wall Street phenomenon—a three-digit swing in the Dow, usually down, in the final hour of trading—is a direct result of population growth in one species: bears. Margin calls are forcing panicked sell-offs, it's true, but the situation is more complicated than that, experts tell the New York Times. More»

(NEWSER) - Wall Street observed the 20th anniversary of Black Monday with an absolute bloodbath today as the Dow fell a whopping 366.94 points to close at 13,522.02. Wachovia, Caterpillar, and Honeywell led a host of disappointing earnings reports, driving every major index down over 2.5%. The S&P 500 dropped 39.45 to 1,500.63, and the Nasdaq closed at 2,725.16, off 74.15. 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»

It's Dow's best finish since 2008

(NEWSER) - Today's rosy jobs report did wonders for the markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, in fact, closed at an 11-year high, reports MarketWatch , while the Dow finished at its highest level since May 2008, notes the Wall Street Journal . The numbers:

• Dow: Up 157, 1.2%, to 12,862
• Nasdaq: Up 46, 1.6%, to 2,906
• S&P 500: Up 19, 1.5%, to 1,345

Market has its best day this month

(AP) - Encouraging signs out of Europe and a surprisingly strong report on the US housing market drove the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 330 points today. It was the best day for stocks this month. The Spanish government pulled off a successful debt auction, and gauges of business and consumer confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, said builders broke ground on 685,000 new homes last month, a 9.3% jump from October. That's the highest level since April 2010. More»