[NYTr] Booming Economy: Brutal selloff on Wall Street: Dow down 367 points

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

XNN - Oct 19, 2007
http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/19/markets/markets_0405/index.htm

Brutal selloff on Wall Street

Dow down around 367 points, its third worst day of the year, on fears
about credit and housing sector, earnings, record-high oil prices,
slide in dollar, what the Fed will do next. 

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tanked Friday as worries about more
problems in the bank sector, slower corporate earnings growth, the weak
dollar, and record-high oil prices all came to a head.

The Dow Jones industrial average (Charts) lost around 367 points,
according to early tallies, seeing its third-biggest point loss of the
year since the steep selloff in early August in the midst of the credit
and mortgage market mess. 

The decline Friday left the blue-chip indicator at its lowest point
since Sept. 17, the day before the Federal Reserve cut interest rates
for the first time in 4 years, triggering a rally that was cut short
this week.

The S&P 500 (Charts) index lost 2.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite
(Charts) gave up 2.7 percent.

Disappointing earnings from Caterpillar, Honeywell and others
exacerbated concerns about weak third-quarter profits. Meanwhile,
Wachovia became the latest financial services firm to reveal how the
credit and mortgage market crisis had hit its profits.

Stubbornly high oil prices - which briefly topped $90 a barrel - added
to the day's weakness, as did the dollar, which fell to a new record
low against the euro and also slipped versus the yen. Treasury prices
surged, as investors sought safety in the comparably safe haven of
bonds.

Here's what was moving the market late in the session.
The high price of lazy investing

Stock declines were broad based, with all but 3 of the Dow 30 slumping.

Stocks have had a tough week as investors digested a batch of
lackluster earnings reports and tried to put into context what the run
up in oil prices could mean for consumer spending and the economy.

"We're seeing this kind of selloff because of where oil is and because
the banks are reminding people that we have a lot further to go before
we get to the bottom of the real estate issue," said John Forelli,
portfolio manager at Independence Investments.

Forelli said that this marks a change in thinking from earlier in the
month, when a rash of billion-dollar writedowns from big banks seemed
to give investors a "the worst is behind us" perception.

The run up in oil prices was also significant in that it revives fears
about whether it will drive up inflationary pressures enough to limit
the Federal Reserve's ability to cut interest rates further, even if
the economic growth deteriorates enough to warrant more cuts.

"You started the day off with trader's superstitions because of the
anniversary of the 1987 crash and meanwhile you've had a bunch of
companies come out talking about the weakness of the economy," said
John Wilson, chief technical strategist at Morgan Keegan. (For more on
the '87 crash, click here.)

Wilson said these were among the factors giving investors a reason to
retreat after pushing the Dow and S&P 500 to record highs last week.
Oil prices past $90; gas on the rise

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers
beat winners four to one on volume of 1.10 billion shares. On the
Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers three to one on volume of 1.57
billion shares.

Bank of America (Charts, Fortune 500)'s earnings disappointed investors
Thursday and Friday it was Wachovia (Charts, Fortune 500)'s turn. The
nation's fourth-largest bank said earnings fell from a year ago, due to
the credit market turmoil. Wachovia also said revenue rose slightly
from a year ago. Both earnings and revenue were short of forecasts.

Dow components Caterpillar (Charts, Fortune 500), 3M (Charts, Fortune
500) and Honeywell (Charts, Fortune 500) also reported results Friday
that disappointed investors.

Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar reported that quarterly earnings rose
versus a year ago, but results were short of estimates. The company
also cut its fiscal 2007 outlook.

Honeywell reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue and boosted
its fiscal 2007 outlook. However, earnings were short of estimates and
investors took a 'sell the news' response, sending shares lower.

3M shares slumped 6 percent after reporting higher quarterly earnings
that topped estimates on higher sales that missed estimates. The
company, considered a bellwether for the U.S. economy because of its
range of businesses, also raised its fiscal 2007 earnings forecast.

However, investors may have been unnerved by news that 3M is cutting
prices on its films for LCD television screens, one of its most
profitable ventures, AP said.

Dow component McDonald's (Charts, Fortune 500) reported higher
quarterly earnings that met estimates on sales that missed forecasts.
Shares were modestly lower on the session.

Schlumberger (Charts) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped
estimates, but investors sent shares lower on weaker North American
results, AP reported.

SanDisk (Charts) reported lower quarterly earnings that topped
estimates, but also reported gross margins, a key measure of
profitability, that were short of forecasts, sending shares of the
flash memory drive maker lower.

Other tech earnings were more positive. Late Thursday, Google (Charts,
Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped
estimates.

Also after the close Thursday, Advanced Micro Devices (Charts, Fortune
500) reported a lower-than-expected quarterly loss.

With 24 percent of the S&P 500 having reported, earnings are currently
on track to have fallen 0.1 percent from the same period a year ago,
according to the latest Thomson Financial figures, which combine
reported and expected earnings. Even if overall earnings growth ends up
a few percentage points higher, as is typical, the third-quarter will
still represent the worst quarterly growth in more than 5 years.

Also adding to the stock turmoil Friday: the 20th anniversary of Black
Monday, the second biggest market crash in history, when the Dow lost
22.6 percent in a single day for a loss of more than 508 points.

A decline of roughly 23 percent off of Thursday's market close would be
equivalent to nearly 3200 points.

The Dow's 508-point loss was the third worst in history. The worst on a
point basis was Sept. 17, 2001, when the stock market resumed trading
after having been closed for four sessions after the 9/11 terrorist
attacks.

The biggest market crash in history happened on Dec. 12, 1914, when the
Dow lost 24 percent, according to Dow Jones indexes. On that day, the
New York Stock Exchange reopened after having been closed for most of
the previous 3-1/2 months due to increased selling at the onset of
World War 1.