UPDATED 7:20pm EST:
New York Times: Dow Ends Flat After Day Of Gyrations
A day that loomed darkly on Wall Street ended with only a modest decline in the overall market and the Dow Jones industrials in an unlikely place: positive territory.
A floor trader at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday. More Photos »
The Dow finished up 21 points after gyrating wildly through much of the session, from a loss of almost 200 points to a gain of 100, in one of the most volatile trading days in months.
But shares of most financial firms plummeted as one of Wall Street's most storied banks, Bear Stearns, lay on its deathbed and central bankers scrambled to stave off a devastating crisis of confidence in the financial world.
UPDATED 12:10 EST:
AP: Stocks Down After Bear Stearns Deal
Wall Street fell in temperamental trading Monday as investors grappled with news of JPMorgan Chase & Co. buying the stricken Bear Stearns & Co. in a deal backed by the government. The Dow Jones industrials, down nearly 200 points in the early going, fluctuated into positive territory and then sank again by more than 100 points.
A buyout of Bear Stearns was certainly more appealing than the alternative: letting the investment bank collapse and causing huge losses for anyone linked to it. And some unprecedented moves by the Federal Reserve gave the market a bit of solace on what many predicted would be a day of precipitous losses in the stock market.
UPDATED 11:30am EST:
AP: U.S. markets rally after early morning declines:
Wall Street clawed back from sharp losses Monday, with investors snapping up bargain stocks after JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought stricken Bear Stearns & Co. in a deal backed by the government. The Dow Jones industrials, down nearly 200 points in the early going, fluctuated in and out of positive territory.
Wall Street retreated Monday as Wall Street and other global markets reacted to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s government-backed buyout of the stricken investment bank Bear Stearns Cos.
On top of supporting the buyout, the Federal Reserve took the extraordinary step of lowering the rate it charges to loan directly to banks on Sunday night -- two days before its scheduled meeting Tuesday. The central bank lowered the discount rate by a quarter point to 3.25 percent.
AP: Dow trades down 182 points after markets open:
In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is trading down 182 points at the 11,768 level.
Reuters: US Dollar drops after weekend Fed action:
The dollar tumbled to a 12-1/2 year low against the Japanese yen on Monday and record lows against the euro and the Swiss franc as liquidity-boosting measures launched by the Federal Reserve over the weekend failed to quell worry about the health of the U.S. financial sector.The dollar reacted to the Fed taking emergency measures to stem the fast-spreading financial crisis, cutting its discount rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent on Sunday and opening up discount window lending to major investment banks, a tool not used since the Great Depression.
AP: Bush says his Administration is on top of the situation:
President Bush says his administration is on top of the situation in dealing with the slumping economy.Bush says that the country is in challenging times. But he also says another thing is for certain: " We've taken strong decisive action."
NY Times: Global Markets In Free Fall:
Stock markets across Europe fell 2 to 3 percent soon after opening on Monday, following drops on major Asian stock markets of 3 to 5 percent. Tokyo's benchmark index hit a three-year low before it rebounded slightly; Chinese and Indian stock markets tumbled even more sharply.In the United States, stock futures plunged overnight, indicating that the markets would open to heavy losses. Futures in the Dow Jones industrial average were down more than 200 points.