Dow Reaches New Bear-Market Closing Low
道琼斯工业股票平均价格指数创出熊市以来的收盘新低，金融类股继续下跌，而投资者面对一系列黯淡的经济数据缺乏入市动力。道琼斯指数下跌89.68点，收于7465.95点，跌幅1.2%。本周该指数一直在去年11月20日创出的7552.29点的五年半收盘低点附近徘徊。周四，道琼斯指数曾一度跌破11月21日创出的7449.38点的五年半盘中低点。金融类成份股再度重挫，美国银行(Bank of America)和花旗集团(Citigroup)均下跌了14%。花旗收于2.51美元，是其历史上的最低收盘价。美国运通(American Express)下跌8.7%，收于12.87美元，至少是1972年1月21日以来的最低收盘价，该股的下跌当天拖累了道琼斯指数近10个点。摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase)下跌了4.2%。困扰世界各地股市的顽疾一直难以得到解决，鉴于股市上没有更好的选择，投资者纷纷寻找其它投资领域。Russell Investments的伍德(Stephen Wood)说，在寻找潜在的投资机会时，首先进行的测试就是生存能力。这家公司在未来半年或1年中能否生存？在大多数情况下，这种测试让伍德放弃投资美国股市的任何股票。同现在许多投资者一样，他建议他的客户更多地转向高级别债券或现金，等待股市风暴的过去。银行类股的重挫也拖累标准普尔500指数下跌1.2%，收于778.94点，金融类股的跌幅高达5.3%。纳斯达克综合指数下跌1.7%，至1442.82点，受Fifth Third Bancorp等银行类股大幅下跌和惠普(Hewlett-Packard)周三晚间公布令投资者失望的收益报告后科技类股表现低迷的打击。道琼斯指数成份股惠普下跌了7.9%。大多数交易员最为关注的仍然是金融体系的健康。由于财政部长盖特纳(Timothy Geithner)本月早些时候公布的银行业救助计划令交易员感到失望，金融类股一直引领大盘剧烈震荡。AIG SunAmerica Asset Management的小型股投资组合经理卢辛(Jay Rushin)说，除非金融业问题的解决方案能够更加明确，否则我不认为市场除了短线反弹之外还能有何作为。对金融类股的悲观看法已经积聚了数周，随着周五期权到期日的临近，持续了一个月的低迷期权交易也给银行类股带来了巨大压力。投资者纷纷买进看跌期权以保护他们持有的股票，而投机者也在采取类似策略，认定股市将进一步下挫。Canaccord Adams美国股票交易董事总经理罗弗里(Dave Rovelli)说，由于周五的期权到期问题，周五和周四的情况对银行类股来说有所不同。当它们整月走低即将到期时，你在到期前会看到继续的下挫。他指出，股市去年11月触底时，也正是在期权到期之前。经济报告也几乎没有对股市有丝毫的提振。周四新公布的数据显示就业市场形势不容乐观，这也是消费者投资者和政策制定者的一大担忧。美国领取失业救济一周以上的人员数量再创新高，2月初接近500万人，而首次申请失业救济的人数与此前一周没有变化。美联储周三说，年底前失业率可能会逼近9%。油价的下滑对消费者来说是为数不多的亮点之一，不过在有数据显示原油库存出人意料地减少后，油价的下滑走势周四突然逆转。原油价格涨4.86美元，至每桶39.48美元，涨幅14.04%，创下今年单日最大上涨价格和涨幅。市场的剧烈动荡令很多投资者都开始离场观望。纽约经纪公司Hilliard Lyons的场内交易员瓦尔迪斯(Alan Valdes)说，目前市场上缺乏信心。现在我们有的客户暂缓以10美元的价格买进一只股票，因为他们发现下周股价就到8美元了。这种态度非常盛行。纽约Hampton Securities高级副总裁沃尔兹(Roger Volz)说，2008年底的股市下挫中很多小投资者受到冲击，之后公众对市场的参与依然很少，他们要么是受到的打击太大而无力建仓，要么是对此漠不关心了。他说，这让对冲基金和其他短线投资者最近在市场上成了主角，加剧了动荡。欧洲股市收盘接近当日开盘价，不过投资者从乐观的公司收益上得到了一些安慰。金融类股上涨，此前法国巴黎银行(BNP Paribas)说2009年前景不错，瑞士再保险(Swiss Re)则公布了少于预期的年度亏损。亚洲股市周四大部分走高，丰田汽车(Toyota Motor)等出口商得益于日圆走软，推高日本股市；澳大利亚矿业公司股票在连续3个交易日下挫后反弹。日经225指数涨0.3%，上证综指涨0.8%。Peter A. McKay / Kejal Vyas（更新完成）
The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new bear-market closing low, as the financial sector continued to decline and investors found little impetus to buy in a flurry of economic data.The Dow industrials dropped 89.68 points, or 1.2%, to close at 7465.95. The blue-chip benchmark had flirted all week with its five-and-half-year closing low of 7552.29, set on Nov. 20. Thursday, the Dow briefly dipped under its five-and-a-half-year intraday low of 7449.38 of Nov. 21.Its financial components dropped again, with Bank of America and Citigroup falling 14% each. Citi ended at $2.51 -- the lowest closing value in the bank's history. American Express declined 8.7% to $12.87, its lowest close since at least January 21, 1972, and accounted for nearly ten points of the Dow's total daily decline. J.P. Morgan Chase fell 4.2%.The problems plaguing markets around the world have stubbornly resisted resolution, and that has left investors looking for a place to put down money with few sound options in the equity markets.Stephen Wood, of Russell Investments, said that when he is looking at potential investments, 'the first test that we run is for survival. Can this company survive in 6 or 12 months?' In most cases, that test has steered Mr. Wood away from investments in U.S. stocks in any sector. Instead, like many investors these days, he's increasingly steering his clients toward high-grade bonds or cash, waiting for the stock market's storm to blow over.Falling bank stocks also took a toll on the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which tumbled 1.2% to 778.94 amid a 5.3% skid in its financial sector. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.7% to 1442.82, hit by steep losses for banks such as Fifth Third Bancorp and a slump in the tech sector after Hewlett-Packard disappointed investors with its earnings report late Wednesday. H-P, a Dow stock, fell 7.9%.The primary concern of most traders remains the health of the financial system. Since Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's bank rescue fell flat with traders earlier this month, financial stocks have led the market on a roller-coaster ride.'Until there is better clarity for the resolution of these [financial sector] problems, I don't see how this market does anything aside from short-term bounces,' said Jay Rushin, small-cap portfolio manager at AIG SunAmerica Asset Management.Pessimism about the financials has been building up for weeks, and a month of bearish options trading is weighing on bank stocks as options expiration looms Friday. Investors have scooped up puts to protect their stock holdings, while speculators have pursued similar tactics to bet on further declines.'Today into tomorrow is a different scenario for banks because of expiration tomorrow. When they are down the whole month going into expiration, you have the continued leap down into expiration,' said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading for Canaccord Adams. He noted that when the stock market bottomed out in November, it was also just before expiration of options.Economic reports have also offered little fuel to rally stocks.New data Thursday painted a grim picture of the job market, a key concern for consumers, investors and policy makers. The number of U.S. workers drawing unemployment benefits for more than a week hit a fresh record high near five million in early February, and the level of new claims was unchanged from the previous week. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the unemployment rate could near 9% by the end of the year.Falling oil prices have been one of the few bright spots for consumers, but that trend reversed abruptly on Thursday after data showed a surprising drawdown in crude-oil inventories. Crude surged $4.86 to $39.48 a barrel -- a spurt of 14.04% that was oil's biggest single-day dollar and percentage gain this year.The market's brutal dynamics have driven many investors to the sidelines.'You just don't see a lot of conviction from anyone in this market right now,' said floor trader Alan Valdes, of Hilliard Lyons, a New York brokerage. 'We have clients right now who will hold off buying a stock for $10 because they figure it will be $8 next week. That attitude is rampant.'Roger Volz, senior vice president at Hampton Securities in New York, said that 'we've still got very little market participation by the public, which is either so beaten up that it can't take on new positions or has simply stopped caring,' after many small investors were burned in the late-2008 slide. He said that has left hedge funds and other short-term players in the market's driver's seat in recent days, adding volatility.European stocks ended close to where they began the day, though investors took some comfort from upbeat corporate earnings. Financial stocks advanced after BNP Paribas said it is well positioned for 2009 and Swiss Re reported a narrower-than-feared full-year net loss.Most Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, with exporters such as Toyota Motor benefiting from a weaker yen and lifting Japanese stocks, while miners spurred gains in Australia after a three-session losing streak. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3% and the Shanghai Composite added 0.8%.Peter A. McKay / Kejal Vyas
The Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new bear-market closing low, as the financial sector continued to decline and investors found little impetus to buy in a flurry of economic data.The Dow industrials dropped 89.68 points, or 1.2%, to close at 7465.95. The blue-chip benchmark had flirted all week with its five-and-half-year closing low of 7552.29, set on Nov. 20. Thursday, the Dow briefly dipped under its five-and-a-half-year intraday low of 7449.38 of Nov. 21.Its financial components dropped again, with Bank of America and Citigroup falling 14% each. Citi ended at $2.51 -- the lowest closing value in the bank's history. American Express declined 8.7% to $12.87, its lowest close since at least January 21, 1972, and accounted for nearly ten points of the Dow's total daily decline. J.P. Morgan Chase fell 4.2%.The problems plaguing markets around the world have stubbornly resisted resolution, and that has left investors looking for a place to put down money with few sound options in the equity markets.Stephen Wood, of Russell Investments, said that when he is looking at potential investments, 'the first test that we run is for survival. Can this company survive in 6 or 12 months?' In most cases, that test has steered Mr. Wood away from investments in U.S. stocks in any sector. Instead, like many investors these days, he's increasingly steering his clients toward high-grade bonds or cash, waiting for the stock market's storm to blow over.Falling bank stocks also took a toll on the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which tumbled 1.2% to 778.94 amid a 5.3% skid in its financial sector. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.7% to 1442.82, hit by steep losses for banks such as Fifth Third Bancorp and a slump in the tech sector after Hewlett-Packard disappointed investors with its earnings report late Wednesday. H-P, a Dow stock, fell 7.9%.The primary concern of most traders remains the health of the financial system. Since Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's bank rescue fell flat with traders earlier this month, financial stocks have led the market on a roller-coaster ride.'Until there is better clarity for the resolution of these [financial sector] problems, I don't see how this market does anything aside from short-term bounces,' said Jay Rushin, small-cap portfolio manager at AIG SunAmerica Asset Management.Pessimism about the financials has been building up for weeks, and a month of bearish options trading is weighing on bank stocks as options expiration looms Friday. Investors have scooped up puts to protect their stock holdings, while speculators have pursued similar tactics to bet on further declines.'Today into tomorrow is a different scenario for banks because of expiration tomorrow. When they are down the whole month going into expiration, you have the continued leap down into expiration,' said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading for Canaccord Adams. He noted that when the stock market bottomed out in November, it was also just before expiration of options.Economic reports have also offered little fuel to rally stocks.New data Thursday painted a grim picture of the job market, a key concern for consumers, investors and policy makers. The number of U.S. workers drawing unemployment benefits for more than a week hit a fresh record high near five million in early February, and the level of new claims was unchanged from the previous week. The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the unemployment rate could near 9% by the end of the year.Falling oil prices have been one of the few bright spots for consumers, but that trend reversed abruptly on Thursday after data showed a surprising drawdown in crude-oil inventories. Crude surged $4.86 to $39.48 a barrel -- a spurt of 14.04% that was oil's biggest single-day dollar and percentage gain this year.The market's brutal dynamics have driven many investors to the sidelines.'You just don't see a lot of conviction from anyone in this market right now,' said floor trader Alan Valdes, of Hilliard Lyons, a New York brokerage. 'We have clients right now who will hold off buying a stock for $10 because they figure it will be $8 next week. That attitude is rampant.'Roger Volz, senior vice president at Hampton Securities in New York, said that 'we've still got very little market participation by the public, which is either so beaten up that it can't take on new positions or has simply stopped caring,' after many small investors were burned in the late-2008 slide. He said that has left hedge funds and other short-term players in the market's driver's seat in recent days, adding volatility.European stocks ended close to where they began the day, though investors took some comfort from upbeat corporate earnings. Financial stocks advanced after BNP Paribas said it is well positioned for 2009 and Swiss Re reported a narrower-than-feared full-year net loss.Most Asian markets ended higher on Thursday, with exporters such as Toyota Motor benefiting from a weaker yen and lifting Japanese stocks, while miners spurred gains in Australia after a three-session losing streak. Japan's Nikkei 225 ended up 0.3% and the Shanghai Composite added 0.8%.Peter A. McKay / Kejal Vyas