Dow Jones average dips below 8,600 on panic sell-off

www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-10 04:45:22  

·The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 678.91 points, or 7.33%, at 8,579.19. ·The S&P 500 Index plunged 75.02 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 95.21 points. ·Over past seven days, the Dow shed almost 21% and the S&P 500 nearly 22%.

    NEW YORK, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) --

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped more than 7 percent Thursday as panic sell-off dominated markets.

    Investors worried that higher borrowing costs could make carmakers, insurers and energy companies the next victims of the credit crisis.

    The high borrowing rates cast doubts that money would flow into other parts of the money markets, such as commercial paper, and free up the clogged markets to all businesses to keep humming.

    Shares of General Motors tumbled 31.1 percent to their lowest level since 1950 as outlook for car sales worsened. Energy and financial shares also were big drags on the indexes.

    The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 678.91 points, or 7.33 percent, at 8,579.19. It's the first time since May 2003 that the Dow was traded below 8,600.

    The Standard & Poor's 500 Index plunged 75.02 points, or 7.62 percent, at 909.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 95.21 points, or 5.47 percent, at 1,645.12.

    Over past seven days, the Dow shed almost 21 percent and the S&P 500 nearly 22 percent, their worst seven days since October 1987 in the wake of Black Monday. The Dow is down over 40 percent from a record high of above 14,000 one year ago.

Dollar rises against major currencies

www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-10 05:05:07  

    NEW YORK, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) --

The dollar rose against major currencies on Thursday as Wall Street fell sharply.

    Investors were still worrying about the credit crisis despite global rate cuts on Wednesday. Stocks of General Motors fell 30 percent after a major credit ratings agency said it was considering cutting its rating on the largest car manufacturer, dragging broader stocks down.

    The Dow Jones industrial average fell 678.91 points, or 7.3 percent, to close at 8579.19. It was the first time that Dow closed below 9,000 since June 30, 2003. Falling stocks boosted demand of the dollar as a risk aversion currency, sending it rising against the euro and other major currencies.

    The euro was also hit by comments from European Central Bank officials, who said economic growth in the euro zone would be very weak for at least several quarters, and there could be further coordinated interest-rate cuts.

    The euro bought 1.3661 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.3680 dollars it bought late Wednesday. The British pound fell to 1.7197 dollars from 1.7292 dollars.

    The dollar rose to 1.1296 Swiss francs from 1.1259 Swiss francs, and rose to 100.48 Japanese yen from 100.31 Japanese yen. It rose to 1.1439 Canadian dollars from 1.1245 Canadian dollars.

Editor: Yan

Oil slides as demand concern outweighs OPEC production cut

www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-10 03:47:29  

    NEW YORK, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) --

Crude oil continued to fall on Thursday as demand concerns offset the effect of a likely production cut by the OPEC.

    Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 2.36 U.S. dollars to settle at 86.59 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Price slid to as low as 86.02 dollars a barrel, the lowest point since December 2007.

    Concerns that the economic recession would force consumers and businesses to cut back on energy use has dominated Thursday's selling. The financial turmoil continued to spread with New York stocks sank for seven straight sessions. The U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks from around the world took a bold step of coordinated interest rate cut by half a point Wednesday, but it seemed not enough to bolster the market's confidence.

    The U.S. Energy Department reported a huge jump in crude and gasoline inventories as well as a 5.3 percent drop in gasoline demand, which added to investors' demand worries.

    Even the news that the OPEC is "very likely" to cut oil production failed to stop the price slide. The OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Thursday that the organization will tackle the "dramatically" falling oil prices at the emergent meeting on November 18.

    In London, Brent crude for November delivery fell 1.96 dollars to 82.40 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Editor: Yan