Stocks Rebound, Countering Selloff in Financials

Bear Stearns buyout sends JP Morgan up, Lehman Brothers down
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2008 10:17 AM CDT
Stocks Rebound, Countering Selloff in Financials
An employee of the Korea Stock Exchange watches update of stock price on a monitor screen at the Korea Stock Exchange in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 17, 2008.    (AP Photo)

Stocks steadied after steep early morning losses today, with the Dow actually rising 1.06 points by mid-morning, the Wall Street Journal reports. But financials were still down big, as the Bear Stearns fire sale loomed large over the market. Lehman Brothers, down 22%, was hit the worst, other than Bear itself, which nosedived 87%. Still, at $3.79, it remained stubbornly above its $2 buyout price.

JP Morgan is paying just $236 million to acquire Bear Stearns, a bargain basement acquisition the market approved of, rewarding JP Morgan stock with an 11% climb. But there was still unease in the air, as investors wondered why the Fed had cut the discount rate just a day before the FOMC meeting. The S&P 500 is down 8.74 points, while the Nasdaq is down 23.11. (More Dow Jones stories.)

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