by Tim Paradis
The Associated Press
Wall Street plunged precipitously Monday, at one point sending the Dow Jones industrials down more than 735 points as investors feared that the failure of the government’s financial rescue plan in the House will force the country into a worsening credit and economic crisis.
As the vote was shown on TV, stocks plunged and investors fled to the safety of the credit markets, worrying that the financial system would now keep sinking under the weight of failed mortgage debt.
"Clearly something needs to be done, and the market dropping 400 points in 10 minutes is telling you that," said Chris Johnson president of Johnson Research Group. "This isn’t a market for the timid."
While investors had some worries that the vote would be close, many on Wall Street appeared to believe it would ultimately pass. The proposal wasn’t being seen on the Street as a panacea for the deepening problems in the financial sector that have led to the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Washington Mutual Inc. and the forced sale of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wachovia Corp. — and that still pose a threat to many other banks.
The markets turned highly volatile as it became clear the measure wouldn’t find the necessary support. The Dow regained ground then fell back again, trading down 571.55, or 5.13 percent, to 10,571.58. At its low, it was down 735.36, beyond its previous record for an intraday drop, 721.56, set during the first trading day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Still, in percentage terms, the decline remained well below the more than 20 percent drops seen on Black Monday of October 1987 and the Depression.
Broader stock indicators also tumbled. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 81.15, or 6.69 percent, to 1,132.12; the decline on the day represented a paper loss of more than $700 billion, S&P said.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 142.52, or 6.53 percent, to 2,040.82.
The Federal Reserve declined to comment on the market’s decline.
With Wall Street in turmoil, the yield on the 3-month Treasury bill fell to 0.39 percent from 0.87 percent on Friday. That showed that investors were prepared to get meager returns on an investment as long as it was secure. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.62 percent from 3.84 percent late Thursday.
Investors also faced other worries about the banking system. Wachovia became the latest big bank to be rescued from its overwhelming bad mortgage debt, agreeing to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-brokered buyout of its banking operations by Citigroup Inc.
Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald, said investors are worried about the spread of troubles beyond banks in the U.S. to Europe and other markets.
"Things are dying and breaking apart while they sit there and vote on this thing," he said.
The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Light, sweet crude fell $10.52 to settle at $96.36 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors feared that a worsening economy would slice into energy demand. If the decline held, it would be oil’s largest ever one-day drop.
Lawmakers voted down a plan that was different than what the Bush administration had originally proposed. There were restrictions allowing Congress to limit how much of the money goes out the door at once. It also included caps on pay packages of top executives as well as assurances that the government also would ultimately be reimbursed by the companies for any losses. The Treasury would have been permitted to spend $250 billion to buy banks’ risky assets, giving them a much-needed necessary cash infusion. There also would be another $100 billion for use at President Bush’s discretion and a final $350 billion if Congress signs off on it.
Wall Street found further reason for worry overseas. Three European governments agreed to inject Fortis NV with a $16.4 billion bailout. Fortis, with has headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and Utrecht, Netherlands, is Belgium’s largest retail bank.
The British government, meanwhile, said it is nationalizing mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, which has a $91 billion mortgage and loan portfolio. It was the latest sign that the credit crisis has spread beyond the U.S.
Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.26 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 5.30 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 4.23 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 5.04 percent.
Investors had been looking to the government’s proposed plan to jump-start the credit markets.