'Correction' Corrects Itself by Day's End; Bear Stearns Leads Rebound for Stocks; Alcoa Slides 5.3%
The stock market went into "correction" mode yesterday, only to make a massive end-of-session comeback. Bear Stearns was among financial shares that led the way, Continental Airlines rose above the fray, but Alcoa couldn't quite regroup.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 15.69, or 0.1%, to 12845.78 after being down as much as 343.53, and marked its sixth decline in a row. Since reaching its closing high of 14000.41 on July 19, the industrial average has only one of its 30 members showing a gain: Procter & Gamble.</br></br>The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.56, or 0.3%, to 1411.26, still down, by 0.5%, for the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 7.76, or 0.3%, to 2451.07, down each of the last six sessions. The New York Stock Exchange Composite Index declined 1.94 to 9087.10.</br></br>All four indexes were down more than 10% from their most recent highs, the generally accepted definition of a stock market correction. Positives that emerged from the financial group were said to have greatly helped the market recoup.</br></br>Bear Stearns rose 13.29, or 13%, to 116.44. The investment bank is set to cut about 240 jobs at its mortgage-lending unit. Fannie Mae gained 3.70, or 6%, to 65.15 and Freddie Mac rose 1.06, or 1.8%, to 61.34.