Dow down 500 points

[oddcrap]

Stock tumbled across the board Tuesday, with the Dow industrials sinking more than 500 points at one point, after declining markets in China and Europe and a steep drop in durable goods orders triggered a massive selloff on Wall Street. News that Vice President Dick Cheney was the apparent target in a Taliban suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan added to the day's worries. A worried trader eyes a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 384.46 to 12,247.80, Charts) sank as much as 545 points, or about 4 percent, in afternoon trading, though it recovered somewhat and was off about 375 points near the close. The blue-chip barometer has fallen for the last four sessions. The broader S&P 500 (down 48.51 to 1,400.86, Charts) index fell 4 percent. Should it end where it stood around 3:00 p.m. ET, it would be the biggest one-day selloff on a percentage basis since may 19, 2003. The S&P 500 also slumped for the previous four sessions. The Nasdaq (down 87.41 to 2,417.11, Charts) composite tumbled 4 percent after having slid for the last two sessions.

The Russell 2000 (down 29.29 to 794.40, Charts) small-cap index lost almost 4 percent. Market selloff: Year of the bear? Trying to limit the declines, the New York Stock Exchange said it imposed trading curbs as of 1:03 p.m. ET, around the time the Dow slipped 200 points, CNN has confirmed. Treasury bonds rallied as investors sought a safe place to park their money while the dollar fell. Oil prices inched higher and gold prices fell. Chinese stocks slumped 9 percent Tuesday - the worst one-day selloff in a decade - on concerns that the government would interfere to cool the speculation that drove the Shanghai market up nearly 130 percent last year. (Full story). Other Asian markets slumped in tandem. European shares also tumbled. "The selloff demonstrates somewhat starkly the inter-connectedness of stock markets around the world," said Hugh Johnson, chief strategist at ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management.

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[Hurmoth]

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