Dow Falls 5.7% in Worst Week of Year
The U.S. stock market ended the worst week of the year today on a down note, leaving it in the shadows cast by a bear market and deepening financial gloom around the world.</br></br>After Thursday's dramatic plunge of more than 350 points, the Dow dropped another 114.31 points today, or 1.4 percent, to close at 8051.68 -- a loss in value of 5.65 percent for the week.</br></br>Although the blue-chip average was up as much as 78.43 points early in the day, buyers hunting for bargain-priced stocks were timid and couldn't sustain the rally in the face of recent financial free falls in markets in Russia, Asia and Latin America. Although the stock market in Russia rose today, shares on Tokyo's stock market closed at their lowest levels in more than 12 years.</br></br>Despite the turmoil abroad, the Federal Reserve isn't likely to reduce U.S. interest rates, a number of Fed officials said yesterday at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. However, the continuing turmoil and the likelihood it will slow U.S. economic growth has virtually eliminated pressure on the Fed to raise rates to restrain inflation, they said.</br></br>Traders were glad to see the end of a tough week, when the Dow lost a total of 514.93 points. The Nasdaq Stock Market, heavy with technology stocks, took an even bigger hit this week, with the Nasdaq composite index dropping 8.8 percent to close at 1639.68. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down 5 percent.