<

Enron Investigation Worries Pull Stocks Down
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
(3:46 PM CT)
The Associated Press

Still, most analysts agree Wall Street wants to see more concrete, upbeat forecasts from big companies before getting too excited about any recovery. The big concern now is that the economic turnaround will be muted, and unable to inspire the kind of earnings growth investors have been anticipating.

NEW YORK -- AP
Concerns over a widening congressional investigation of Enron further soured the market's mood today and sent stocks tumbling. The selloff pulled the Dow Jones industrials down more than 150 points and sent the Nasdaq composite index to its lowest close since November.

The market has now given back nearly all of its gains from this month's big rally. Analysts said investors, doubtful that the economic recovery will be as quick and strong as hoped, didn't want to risk losing profits to another Enron-type scandal.

The Dow closed down 157.90, or 1.6 percent, at 9,745.14, according to preliminary calculations. It was the lowest finish since Feb. 7, when the index closed at 9,625.44.

The technology-based Nasdaq tumbled 54.59, or 3 percent, to 1,750.61, its worst showing since Nov. 2 when it fell to 1,745.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 20.84, or 1.9 percent, to 1,083.34.

Today's losses appeared linked to selling that began Friday on reports about IBM's accounting. A New York Times story today about Enron reminded Wall Street that congressional investigators are widening their probe of the energy trader to include investment firms.

The story squelched investors' hopes that the fallout from Enron might soon dissipate.
(More: The Houston Chronicle News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan