Dow falls below 8,000, S&P at 5-year low
Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003, with
the Dow Jones industrial average falling below the 8,000 mark, as
the fate of Detroit's Big Three automakers and the economy
disheartened investors.
Stocks finished at their lows of the session after the
automakers pleaded for relief during a second day of hearings in
Washington. The heads of General Motors Ford and Chrysler are
asking for a massive infusion of cash to prevent millions of
layoffs and stave off bankruptcy.
Investors were discouraged by the Fed's sharply lowered
projection for economic activity this year and next. Economic
worries caused across-the-board selling, with financial stocks
particularly hard hit.
The Dow finished down nearly 430 points at the 7,990 level.