Hey, let's party like it's 2002, again...
Uh, like the Dow is down to what it was back in October 2002.

I had more dough then, though.
Fugly. Hope you have seatbelts and helmets on, and a
longer time frame than some of us ol'bastards.
GL,mD

FEBRUARY 19, 2009, 5:05 P.M. ET[/COLOR] Dow Reaches New Bear-Market Closing Low



By PETER A. MCKAY and KEJAL VYAS

The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new bear-market closing low, as the financial sector continued to decline and investors found little impetus to buy in a flurry of economic data.

The Dow industrials dropped 89.68 points, or 1.2%, to close at 7465.95. The blue-chip benchmark had flirted all week with its five-and-half-year closing low of 7552.29, set on Nov. 20. Thursday, the Dow briefly dipped under its five-and-a-half-year intraday low of 7449.38 of Nov. 21.
Its financial components dropped again, with Bank of America and Citigroup falling 14% each. Citi ended at $2.51 -- the lowest closing value in the bank's history. American Express declined 8.7% to $12.87, its lowest close since at least January 21, 1972, and accounted for nearly ten points of the Dow's total daily decline. J.P. Morgan Chase fell 4.2%.

The problems plaguing markets around the world have stubbornly resisted resolution, and that has left investors looking for a place to put down money with few sound options in the equity markets.

Stephen Wood, of Russell Investments, said that when he is looking at potential investments, "the first test that we run is for survival. Can this company survive in 6 or 12 months?" In most cases, that test has steered Mr. Wood away from investments in U.S. stocks in any sector. Instead, like many investors these days, he's increasingly steering his clients toward high-grade bonds or cash, waiting for the stock market's storm to blow over.

Falling bank stocks also took a toll on the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which tumbled 1.2% to 778.94 amid a 5.3% skid in its financial sector. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.7% to 1442.82, hit by steep losses for banks such as Fifth Third Bancorp and a slump in the tech sector after Hewlett-Packard disappointed investors with its earnings report late Wednesday. H-P, a Dow stock, fell 7.9%.

The primary concern of most traders remains the health of the financial system. Since Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's bank rescue fell flat with traders earlier this month, financial stocks have led the market on a roller-coaster ride.

"Until there is better clarity for the resolution of these [financial sector] problems, I don't see how this market does anything aside from short-term bounces," said Jay Rushin, small-cap portfolio manager at AIG SunAmerica Asset Management.

Pessimism about the financials has been building up for weeks, and a month of bearish options trading is weighing on bank stocks as options expiration looms Friday. Investors have scooped up puts to protect their stock holdings, while speculators have pursued similar tactics to bet on further declines.

"Today into tomorrow is a different scenario for banks because of expiration tomorrow. When they are down the whole month going into expiration, you have the continued leap down into expiration," said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading for Canaccord Adams. He noted that when the stock market bottomed out in November, it was also just before expiration of options.

Economic reports have also offered little fuel to rally stocks.
New data Thursday painted a grim picture of the job market, a key concern for consumers, investors and policy makers. The number of U.S. workers drawing unemployment benefits for more than a week hit a fresh record high near five million in early February, and the level of new claims was unchanged from the previous week. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the unemployment rate could near 9% by the end of the year.

Falling oil prices have been one of the few bright spots for consumers, but that trend reversed abruptly on Thursday after data showed a surprising drawdown in crude-oil inventories. Crude surged $4.86 to $39.48 a barrel -- a spurt of 14.04% that was oil's biggest single-day dollar and percentage gain this year.

The market's brutal dynamics have driven many investors to the sidelines.

"You just don't see a lot of conviction from anyone in this market right now," said floor trader Alan Valdes, of Hilliard Lyons, a New York brokerage. "We have clients right now who will hold off buying a stock for $10 because they figure it will be $8 next week. That attitude is rampant."
Roger Volz, senior vice president at Hampton Securities in New York, said that "we've still got very little market participation by the public, which is either so beaten up that it can't take on new positions or has simply stopped caring," after many small investors were burned in the late-2008 slide. He said that has left hedge funds and other short-term players in the market's driver's seat in recent days, adding volatility.

European stocks ended close to where they began the day, though investors took some comfort from upbeat corporate earnings. Financial stocks advanced after BNP Paribas said it is well positioned for 2009 and Swiss Re reported a narrower-than-feared full-year net loss.

Most Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, with exporters such as Toyota Motor benefiting from a weaker yen and lifting Japanese stocks, while miners spurred gains in Australia after a three-session losing streak. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3% and the Shanghai Composite added 0.8%.




http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1235...abs%3Dcomments

__________________
Ol'UncleMotor
From the Home Base of Pro Bono Punditry
and 50 Cent Opins...

Our Mtn Scenes, Car Pics, and Road Trip Pics on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4527537...7627297418250/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4527537...7627332480833/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45275375@N00/

My X Page