Stock selloff deepens

[Guest guest]

Dear list members,

 

The selloff in the stock market has accelerated in the afternoon and

the Dow Jones Industrial Average has so far today posted the largest

one day drop in the past decade, over 200 points.

 

News that US Vice President Dick Cheney was the target of a bomb

attack in Afghanistan has apparently deepened the concerns. As has

been predicted, the affliction of natal L2 Sun in the SAMVA USA chart

by transit L8 Saturn would be expected to produce dramatic events for

the US Presidency. This prediction has now been realised but further

are expected as this affliction becomes stationary and closer in

coming weeks and months.

 

The stock market would also be likely to continue to decline much

further, although some days the market may stage a temporary recovery.

 

Best wishes,

 

Thor

 

 

 

Stock selloff deepens

Dow tumbles 150, Nasdaq slumps as investors eye selloff in China,

thwarted attack on Cheney, drop in durable goods orders.

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer

February 27 2007: 11:52 AM EST

 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The stock selloff worsened near midday

Tuesday as reports of slumping stocks in China and Europe and a steep

decline in durable goods orders raised worries that the recent rally

may be tapped out.

 

News that Vice President Dick Cheney was the apparent target in a

Taliban suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan added to the morning

concerns.

 

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 151.09 to 12,481.17, Charts)

sank about 1 percent roughly two hours into the session, as did the

broader S & P 500 (down 17.44 to 1,431.93, Charts) index. Both blue-chip

averages have fallen for the last four sessions.

 

The Nasdaq (down 42.39 to 2,462.13, Charts) composite slumped 1.5

percent after having slid for the last two sessions.

Market selloff: Year of the bear?

 

Treasury bonds rallied as investors sought a safe place to park their

money while the dollar 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 130 percent last

year. (Full story).

 

Other Asian markets slumped in tandem. European shares also tumbled in

late trade.

 

The slump in world markets exacerbated concerns that Wall Street is

due for a selloff after a nearly eight-month rally that has sent the

Dow industrials to record highs and the Nasdaq and S & P 500 to more

than 6-year highs.

 

" The selloff certainly demonstrates somewhat starkly the

inter-connectedness of stock markets around the world, " said Hugh

Johnson, chief strategist at ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management.

 

" Markets can decline in one seemingly isolated part of the world and

that decline can be transmitted to other parts of the world through

the psychology, " he said.

 

In the longer term, he said, the selling will ease as the shock wears

off. Yet markets will " continue to be vulnerable to big decisions by

big policy-makers in big places like China, " he added.

More on the markets

 

A morning report in the United States showing a steeper-than-expected

decline in durable goods orders in January added to concerns about

slowing economic growth.

 

Slowing growth ultimately drags on corporate profits, making stocks

more expensive relative to earnings. For more on the day's economic

news,

 

The drop in durables dragged on blue chips such as Dow components

Alcoa (down $1.07 to $34.29, Charts), Caterpillar (down $1.63 to

$65.63, Charts), General Motors (down $1.02 to $32.95, Charts) and

Boeing (down $0.90 to $88.03, Charts).

 

In all, 29 of 30 Dow components slipped. Other losers included the

blue-chip average's technology components, IBM (down $1.15 to $95.76,

Charts) and Hewlett Packard (down $0.63 to $39.66, Charts).

 

Among other movers, Apple Computer (Charts) slumped after it said late

Monday that its Apple TV will be delayed until mid-March.

 

Market breadth was negative On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners

trounced advancers by more than five to one on volume of 790 million

shares. On the Nasdaq, losers beat winners by almost six to one on

volume of 1.06 billion shares.

 

Also hurting stocks Tuesday: news of a suicide bombing attack at the

entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan during a visit

by Dick Cheney. The attack killed at least 23 people. (Full story).

 

In addition to durable goods orders, the morning brought the latest

read on the housing market.

Check world markets

 

Existing home sales grew at a faster-than-expected pace in January, in

a report that also showed the pace of sales dropped from a year ago.

The median price of a home sold in January was down versus a year ago.

(Full story).

 

Another report showed that consumer confidence saw a surprise rise in

February versus forecasts for a drop.

 

Investors were also still digesting Monday reports that former Federal

Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the economy could fall into a

recession by the end of 2007. (Full story).

 

Tuesday kicks off a busy week for economic news, with reports due

later in the week on fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth, new

home sales, personal income and spending and the manufacturing sector.

 

Treasury prices rallied as investors sought safety, lowering the yield

on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.59 percent from 4.62 percent late

Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

 

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen

following the durable goods orders report.

 

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 70 cents to $62.09 a

barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, erasing morning losses.

The price of oil rose for the last four sessions.

 

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $10.50 to $69.30 an ounce.