Top > Business > 2006 > January > 2006-01-23

Major Fall In Stock Market

It seemed that things were getting better in the business world. For a short time period stock prices were rising and even oil was coming down in price, but sadly this did not stay this way. As with most things in life, the business world is one with very few securities, and sometimes a bit of a plunge is what helps things rise again. Stocks plummeted by the most in nearly three years Friday, as corporate earnings fell short of bloated expectations and oil prices surged past $68 a barrel.

General Electric and Citigroup tumbled after reporting results that fell short of some estimates. They were the biggest losers in the Dow Jones industrial average, which plunged 213.32 points, or 2 percent, to 10,667.39, its worst one-day point drop since March 2003.A surge in oil prices above $68 also battered stocks. Crude climbed on concern about potential supply disruptions stemming from Iran`s nuclear plans, the targeting of oil companies by militants in Nigeria and Osama bin Laden`s threat of attacks against the United States.

McDonald`s was the only winner in the 30-stock Dow, which is down 0.5 percent in 2006 after gaining as much as 3 percent. It lost 2.7 percent for the week. The broader Standard and Poor`s 500 index lost 23.55, or 1.8 percent, to 1261.49, its worst performance since September 2003. It was down 2 percent this week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index tumbled 54.11, or 2.3 percent, to 2247.70. It fell 3 percent for the week.