Het Neoliberale Geloof 59

'Stocks shaken by uncertainty
'Another down day on Wall Street'; Dow loses 550 points for week

By James P. Miller Tribune staff reporter
November 10, 2007

Wall Street took it on the chin for a third consecutive session Friday, closing out a dismal week with another big sell-off fueled by investor jitters over the credit-related damage that is still spreading through the financial sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week with a loss of more than 550 points after plummeting 223.55, or 1.7 percent, to 13,042.74 on Friday. It was, as A.G. Edwards market strategist Alfred Goldman observed, "another down day on Wall Street."

It was a down week, in fact, amid mounting worries about the economy's weakening momentum. The Dow slid 4.1 percent this week thanks to three punishing days of losses that started Wednesday. The change in sentiment has been rapid: Friday's slump came exactly one month after the blue-chip index hit its all-time high of 14,164.53.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 21.07, or 1.4 percent, to 1453.70. For the week, the S&P fell 3.7 percent.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 68.06, or 2.5 percent, to 2627.94. The frequently volatile index endured a painful 6.5 percent slide this week, its biggest such drop since April 2002, according to Bloomberg News.

A major bank's warning of accelerating loan losses, a big mortgage lender's disclosure of more defaults and disappointing profit guidance from a prominent high-tech company combined to set the stage for more stock market turmoil.

Investors remain worried about the widening financial fallout from the subprime-mortgage debacle, and in recent days they have also turned leery of the high-tech sector, previously a bright spot in the market.

The news that helped drive tech stocks lower Friday was a downbeat 2008 profit forecast from cell phone technology provider Qualcomm Inc. But the effect of its unwelcome news rippled out to hurt the stocks of many of the tech sector's biggest players.

Apple Inc. shares sank $10.10, or 5.7 percent, to $165.37, while the stock of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd. tumbled $11.26, or 9 percent, to $113.22. Shares of Qualcomm slumped $1.66, or 4.2 percent, to $38.10. Google Inc. stock lost $29.87, or 4.3 percent, to $663.97.

In recent months, investors had been pushing money into the high-tech sector in hopes that those stocks might escape the damage that the credit market's troubles are causing in the housing, manufacturing and financial sectors. But now they are losing confidence in tech's ability to stay above the turbulence, experts suggest.'

Lees verder: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat_wall_1110nov10,0,427734.story