Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Dow Ends Wild Day Up About 141 Points

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished a chaotic day with a preliminary result of 141.51 points, or 1.3 percent, ahead of its level at the opening bell. It was a session of wild swings of about 175 points, and it came the day after the index gave away more than 500 points on the news of the troubles with Lehman Brothers and AIG.

At one point in the afternoon, the Dow dropped about 100 pints in minutes after the Federal Reserve announced in Washington it would not change its key interest rate.

Other stock indicators advanced by the end of the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 20.90 points, or 1.75 percent, to 1,213.60, and the Nasdaq composite index finished trading 27.99 points higher for the day, or 1.28 percent, to 2,207.90. On Monday, the worst day on Wall Street since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Dow fell 4.4 percent, the S&P surrendered 4.7 percent and the Nasdaq dropped 3.6 percent.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was up to 3.52 percent from 3.41 percent late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $3.70 to settle at $92.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, bringing its two-day decline to $10. Investors feel a slowing economy will crimp demand.

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