US stocks slumped due to slide in energy prices. Crude prices tumbled below $ 37/bbl; at 4-year lows. Sharp slump in global demand is expected. Chrysler & Ford announced temporary halt in production. Bond prices rally while dollar recovers against major currencies.
Stocks declined overnight as worries about General Electric's credit and the fate of the auto industry weighed on the market. GE fell 7% after S&P announced a negative credit rating on it. GM and ford skid 16% and nearly 10% respectively as the Bush administration mulled orderly bankruptcy as a solution to the auto industry's problems. There were also reports of merger talks between GM & Chrysler.
The oil stocks like Chevron and Exxon too lost after crude slipped to around $ 36 per barell. Meantime, in economic news initial jobless claims drop more than expected to 554000 and leading indicators fell 0.4% to 99, lowest level in more than 4 years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 219.35, or 2.49%, to 8,604.99. The S&P 500 Index fell 19.14 points, or 2.12%, to 885.28, while the Nasdaq Index fell 26.94 points, or 1.71%, to 1,552.37.
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