New York — Despondent investors intensified their selloff of blue chip stocks Thursday, accelerating the decline in the Dow Jones industrial average and sending the stock market's best-known indicator into bear market territory for much of the session.
Ony a final-hour rally allowed the Dow to recover, but the index still closed with a loss of nearly 100 points.
Investors are in "deep despair," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer for First Albany Corp. "There is a sense of giving up. They are extraordinarily depressed and demoralized."
The Dow, which dropped by triple digits in six of the past nine trading sessions, tumbled to the 9,379 level in the opening minutes of trading, putting the blue chip index down more than 20 percent from the closing high of 11,722.98 it reached on Jan. 14, 2000. A decline of 20 percent is considered bear market territory.
The Dow continued to slide in heavy late afternoon trading, falling more than 380 points. It regained some ground in the final hour and closed down a more moderate 97.52 at 9,389.48.
Thursday's loss means the Dow, which last week suffered its worst-ever weekly point drop, has fallen 1,468.77, or 13.5 percent, over the last 10 trading sessions.
Broader market indicators were mixed.
The Nasdaq composite index, down more than 62 percent from its own high of 5,048.62 reached March 10, 2000, advanced 67.47 to 1,897.70.
The market's broadest measure, the Standard & Poor's 500, finished down 4.56 at 1,117.58, having made a last-minute recovery of its own. The S&P 500 has lost more than a quarter of its value since peaking at 1,527.46 a year ago.
A bear market occurs when there is a drop of 20 percent during a sustained period.
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