Dow Jones closes under 7,000

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/03/02/daily27.html

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Dow Jones closes under 7,000
Washington Business Journal
by Tucker Echols Staff Reporter

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 4 percent Monday, closing under 7,000 for the first time since 1997.

The stock benchmark's 299 point slide to a finish of 6763.29 was fueled by concern that the U.S. government yet again had to rework its bailout of American International Group on a day when the insurance giant announced a record quarterly loss of $61.7 billion. Investor confidence was also shaken by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's assertion that the economy would remain in "a shambles" for the remainder of 2009.

The Dow's last sub-7,000 close was on May 1, 1997 in the midst of the 1990s bull market surge that lifted the average to 11,750 in January 2000 before the bursting of the tech bubble and the ensuing correction back to 7,850 by October 2002.

The S&P500 Index ended Monday's session down 34.27 points, or 4.6 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 54.99 points, or 4 percent.