| Index | Last | Change | % Chg |
| DJ Industrials | 13300.02 | -360.92 | -2.64% |
| Nasdaq Comp | 2748.76 | -76.42 | -2.70% |
| S&P 500 | 1475.62 | -44.65 | -2.94% |
| DJ Wilshire 5K | 14926.22 | -428.59 | -2.79% |
| Russell 2000 | 775.96 | -25.81 | -3.22% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 2169.43 | -54.54 | -2.45% |
| Issues | NYSE | Nasdaq | Amex |
| Advancing | 301 | 584 | 313 |
| Declining | 3,013 | 2,443 | 934 |
| Unchanged | 60 | 113 | 98 |
| Total | 3,374 | 3,140 | 1,345 |
| New 52 Week High | 119 | 55 | 68 |
| New 52 Week Low | 387 | 354 | 81 |
| Total Volume | 1,649,082,500 | 2,502,273,002 | 55,282,318 |
| Advancing Vol | 97,301,030 | 326,781,731 | 11,412,610 |
| Declining Vol | 1,533,184,170 | 2,151,116,786 | 39,427,008 |
| Unchanged Vol | 18,597,300 | 24,374,485 | 4,442,700 |
| Futures | Last | Change |
| Crude Oil | 95.69 | -0.68 |
| Natural Gas | 7.705 | 0.081 |
| Gold, Dec. | 836 | 2.5 |
From Briefing.com:
| Moving the Market |  | Sector Watch |
| Renewed credit concerns General Motors is taking a $39 billion non-cash charge; posts dismal third quarter earnings Dollar falls after a Chinese official states that China might adjust its foreign currency reserves Oil trades in a choppy manner following the EIA report that showed a smaller draw than expected | Strong: IT consulting & services Weak: thrifts & mortgages; consumer finance; tires & rubber; real estate management & development; multi-line insurance; diversified banks; construction materials; advertising; auto manufacturers; regional banks |
It was one of those nerve-wracking days on Wall Street where just about everything got hit - and hit hard. The biggest blow was suffered by the financial sector, which plummeted 5.1% amid a batch of headlines that stoked concerns about the fallout from the housing market's severe downturn. Washington Mutual (WM 20.04, -4.19) was at the epicenter of the concerns after being accused by the New York Attorney General of pressuring real estate appraisers to inflate the value of their appraisals. Both Fannie Mae (FNM 49.79, -5.60) and Freddie Mac (FRE 45.13, -4.26) were subpoenaed in this matter as the Attorney General is seeking information on the mortgages they bought from Washington Mutual and other banks. The word "collusion" was used by the New York Attorney General, which rattled investors who didn't like the implication of widespread fraud. In light of this development, and a Royal Bank of Scotland report suggesting losses related to the credit crisis could ultimately top $250 billion, financial stocks were dumped en masse. The financial sector fallout wasn't event the half of it, so to speak, on Wednesday. Stock holders were also rattled by General Motors (GM 33.95, -2.21) reporting a third quarter loss of $39 billion after writing down the value of future tax benefits. Excluding the accounting adjustment, GM lost $2.80 per share in the period as mortgage-related losses at GMAC, in which it holds a 49% stake, more than offset the small profit from its automotive operations. Analysts had been expecting a loss of $0.36. The weakening dollar also occupied the market's attention all day, as it got knocked back on a report that China might pursue a plan to adjust its dollar holdings in favor of stronger currencies. The dollar index hit its lowest level since inception at 75.077 before rebounding a bit to finish the day down 0.8% at 75.412. The dollar weakness was again seen as a buying catalyst for commodity traders who bid oil and gold futures as high as $98.62 and $855.00, respectively, at one point. Oil prices eventually sold off and finished the day down 0.3% at $96.37. The reversal was attributed to profit-taking as the contract neared $100 and to a weekly inventory report that showed a lower than expected drawdown in stockpiles. A report that third quarter productivity rose 4.9%, while unit labor costs declined 0.2%, was completely overlooked by the market despite being good news from an inflation standpoint. The Treasury market took some notice, but it was driven primarily by a flight-to-quality trade that coincided with the stock market sell-off. The 10-year note gained 12 ticks, bringing its yield down to 4.33%. The strongest buying action, though, was at the front of the Treasury curve as the yield on the 3-month Treasury bill dropped 30 basis points to 3.43% with traders registering concerns about the credit market mess and frontrunning the possibility of another Fed rate cut. The market will get some important insight Thursday on Fed policy when Fed Chairman Bernanke testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on the economic outlook. |
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