After a bad day in Europe, it was a rough day on Wall Street but not as bad as it could have been:
On Friday, the Dow closed down about 100 points, its eighth consecutive decline.
Between the start and the finish was a day in which the Dow Jones industrial average swung 1,000 points and a wild final hour in which the market moved from almost 400 points down to 300 points higher, only to close down 128 points or 1.4 percent.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 10.70 points or 1.1 percent. The technology heavy Nasdaq finished slightly higher.
Another day, another series of violent swings. The Dow has lost almost 2,400 points in the last eight sessions.
The volatility came amid unrelenting pessimism about the health of the global economy and world governments’ ability to solve the global financial crisis.
“People are scared,” Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s, said. “Nobody believes what is coming out of the mouths of politicians, chief executives.”
As well they shouldn’t.
It sure has been quite a week. 300 points on Monday. Another 500 points on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Henry Paulson tried to restore confidence and the Dow responded by dropping like a rock. Another drop of nearly 700 points yesterday. And then, another 100 points today.
All of this after Congress passed the $ 700 billion bailout package.
It’s a good thing the markets are closed on Monday for Columbus Day.
