NEW YORK -- Stocks fell sharply today as investors turned cautious before a weekend summit focusing on how to resuscitate the Japanese and Asian economies. Dow loses 100
The Dow Jones industrial average finished 100.14 points lower at 8,712.87 after swinging from an early 49-point gain to a 124-point loss. It was the third move of at least 100 points this week for the Dow, which dove 207 points on Monday and rebounded 164 points yesterday. For the week, the Dow was off 122.07 points.
Decliners led advancers by a 3-to-2 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,167 up, 1,795 down and 559 unchanged. NYSE volume was 693.44 million shares, up from 589.70 yesterday.
Broader stock indicators also turned lower after opening the day strong amid pledges from U.S. and Japanese leaders to intervene again in the currency markets if necessary. On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve sold dollars for yen for the first time since 1992, helping the yen reverse its slide to an 8-year low.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 5.72 to 1,100.65, but the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 8.59 to 1,781.29. The NYSE composite fell 3.57 to 563.92, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.32 to 438.47. But the American Stock Exchange composite rose 2.63 to 693.97.
The price of the Treasury's main 30-year bond rose 3/8 point, or $3.75 per $1,000, by late afternoon, while its yield fell to 5.67 percent from 5.70 percent yesterday.
Asian markets pulled back today after rallying sharply yesterday. Tokyo's Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent, while share prices fell 4.8 percent in the Philippines, and 3.8 percent in South Korea.