Stocks Plunge, Dow down 777!!

This was one of the worst day in stock market history, it's difficult to figure out where to begin. At the close, Dow was down 777, decliners over advancers 16-1 (that disparity is rarely seen) & NAZ tumbled 200 in what was one of its worst days ever. S&P 500 dropped 106 to 1106, Campbell Soup was the only winner in this group! Volume was hefty, a sign technicians like to see hoping it signals flushing out all the sellers. This time, their rule book, as many others, has to be thrown out the window.

S&P 500 FINANCIALS INDEX was down 43 to 242 heading for 232, the July 15 yearly low. The Alerian MLP index dropped 15 (again, one of its biggest daily declines in 13 years) to 221, at its recent multi yearly low. The Dow Jones REIT Index dropped 13½ to 241, another whopper loss from the panic selling.

After rejection of the bailout package in the House, markets couldn't take it. Central banks stepped in to plug holes at the big bank level, but there was just so much good they could do for the stock markets.

• Treasury Vows to Protect Financial Markets- AP
• Crisis of Confidence Hits Regional Bank Shares- Reuters
• Fed makes billions available to battle crisis- AP
• European banks bailed out as crisis spreads- AP
• Wachovia Bites the Dust, Citigroup Cements 'Too Big to Fail' Status- Tech Ticker
• Fannie, Freddie disclose subpoenas, investigations- AP

New rules for the markets and gov behavior via regulation must be written. Today's rejection by the House of one new set of rules shows that this will be painful, stocks will suffer. Sadly Main Street USA doesn't seem to care about these issues because there are plenty of just plain economic problems they have to deal with (Wall Street vs us) .

Flight to safety was the keyword as T-bills & gold rallied on negative news in the stock markets. The annual interest rate for T-bills is approaching zero & might even go negative as it did a couple of weeks ago, some are that desperate when seeking safety.

There is not much to say. After a brutal day like today we all have a lot to think about. But painful process seems to be the theme going forward for the next few days/weeks/months. I'll be away tomorrow, hope everybody is well behaved. We'll pray for better times going forward!