Financial Stocks Plunge on Liquidity Concerns

Stocks endured a third straight day of heavy selling, as investors dumped financial stocks with renewed vigor. Oil surged above $108 per barrel, another record high, and the dollar continued its downward spiral.

The Dow lost -153.54, the Nasdaq Composite -43.15, and the S&P 500 -20.00.

Bear Stearns
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plunged more than 11%, its largest fall since the ’87 crash, while Citigroup
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fell nearly 6%.

Bond insurers, MBIA
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and Ambac Financial
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lost 10% and 23% respectively.

Lehman Brothers
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announced plans to layoff 5% of its workforce. LEH shares fell more than 7%.

Blackstone Group
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reported an 89% decline in Q4 profit, but its shares rose nearly 3%.

Market Snapshot

Dow

-146.70 11740.15

NASDAQ

-8.01 2169.34

S&P 500

-10.97 1273.37

Economic
News

Wholesale Inventories (Jan): Actual 0.8%, Consensus 0.5%