U.S. stock indexes fall to lowest levels in more than 10 years
Last Updated: Monday, February 23, 2009 | 8:35 PM ET
The Associated Press
The major U.S. stock market indexes staggered to their lowest levels in more than a decade on Monday, pulled down by investors' rapidly waning confidence.
The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 indexes are at the lowest point since 1997, succumbing to growing worries about a recession that has no end in sight.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index fell to its lowest level since late 2004, losing 302 points to 7,647, led by energy trusts and financial issues.
Most financial stocks were pounded, even as U.S. government agencies led by the Treasury Department have said they will launch a revamped bank rescue program.
It includes the option of increasing government ownership in financial institutions without having to pour more taxpayer money into them.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 251 points lower at 7,114.78.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 26 to 743, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 53 to 1,387.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancers by about six to one on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to a moderate 1.61 billion shares.
