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THE BIG PICTURE
So much for year-end tax selling.
Market pundits tried to dismiss Friday's decline as nothing more than folks doing a little last-minute tax planning. It turned out to be only a prelude to Tuesday's vicious sell-off.
Stoked by downgrades on some of the tech market's most respected names, the Nasdaq tumbled 7.2% to its lowest level since March 1999. The big loss on the first day of 2001 trading ranked as No. 7 on the Nasdaq's li
st of worst percentage declines.
Investors also retreated after the December purchasing managers report showed the manufacturing sector coming in for a hard landing. The NAPM index slumped to 43.7, the lowest level since April 1991 - just after the country's last recession. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction. To make matters worse, factories paid higher prices for supplies.
The economy's surprising weakness depressed stocks outside the tech sector. TheS&P 500 dropped 2.8%, while the Dow Jones industrial average declined 1.3%.