New York — It started with another stomach-turning drop at the open and a loss of more than 300 points by midday. Then stocks changed course, raced higher and closed with a dramatic gain of nearly 300.
This wasn't just volatility. This was Wall Street whiplash.
Amid tumbling housing prices, an ongoing credit crisis and growing fears of a recession, turbulence has become a hallmark of Wall Street in recent weeks. And after five straight days of pullbacks, analysts saw some positive signs in Wednesday's trading.
Investors certainly found a reason to buy, perhaps encouraged by the Federal Reserve's unprecedented 0.75-point interest rate cut a day earlier and a widely held bet on another half-point cut next week.
By day's end, the Dow had swung 631.86 points from its low point to its high - the largest single-day turnaround in more than five years.
"You might say this is a belated reaction to what the Fed did this week, compounded by hopes for the Fed to do more next week," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.
Comments
lounger 9 years, 5 months ago
The stock market is based on fantasy. You cannot have an economy that strips the world of its natural resources and wants you to believe everything is peachy!!!!
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