Stocks post worst week in over 4 years
(AP)Updated: 2007-03-03 10:52
Fed Chief Ben Bernanke told Congress during the week that a single event didn't trigger Tuesday's slide, which was the biggest point drop in the Dow since trading resumed following the Sept. 11 attacks. While the drop brought many tense moments for investors, many observers said stocks were overvalued and were due to consolidate.
On Friday, St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole told reporters in Santiago, Chile, the week's pullback didn't appear to be "a huge issue," according to wire service reports.
With trading Friday less frenetic than in previous days, investors had some time to parse individual stocks as they looked for bargains.
AIG's fourth-quarter profit rose sharply from a year earlier when the world's largest insurer spent $1.64 billion to settle charges over its accounting practices. Profits were slightly below Wall Street's forecast though investors were likely pleased by the company's announcement it would repurchase $5 billion in stock in 2007. The company also is targeting a 20 percent annual increase in its dividend. AIG rose $2.13, or 3.2 percent, to $69.54.
Dell Inc. rose 17 cents to $23.18 after the computer maker's profit fell 33 percent amid weak laptop sales. While revenue fell more than expected, the overall results weren't as sour as some investors had feared.
Gap Inc. fell 63 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $18.40 after the company's fourth-quarter earnings dropped 35 percent amid problems that include its newest chain, which the company plans to close.
Subprime lenders fell again Friday as investors remained concerned about soured loans. New Century Financial Corp. warned it would restate financial results for three quarters last year to fix accounting errors for losses related to bad loans. New Century fell $1.20, or 7.6 percent, to $14.65.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.36 billion shares, compared with an unusually heavy 3.92 billion shares traded Thursday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 15.59, or 1.97 percent, to 775.44.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 1.35 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.23 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.49 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 finished higher by less than 0.01 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.56 percent, and France's CAC-40 slid 0.62 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 533.38, or 4.22 percent, at 12,114.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 is down 64.02, or 4.41 percent, at 1,387.17; the Nasdaq composite is down 147.10, or 5.85 percent, at 2,368.00.
The Russell 2000 index closed the week down 51.20, or 6.19 percent, to end at 775.44.
The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index - a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 US based companies_ ended the week at 14,060.13, down 669.70 points from last week. A year ago the index was at 13,022.96.
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