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SLO-MOTION CRASH

By
Kaja Whitehouse
Published Oct. 16, 2008, 8:42 a.m. ET

Stocks suffered their biggest percentage drop since the Crash of ’87 yesterday on questions whether the rescue package was too little, too late and whether recessionary woes would crush the rest of the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 733 points, or 7.87 percent, to 8,577.91 – its second-biggest point drop in history, right behind last month’s 777 point decline.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 90.17 points, or 9 percent, to 907.84, while the Nasdaq lost 150.68, or 8.5 percent, to 1,628.33.

The sell-off, when combined with a more moderate drop Tuesday, nearly eliminated the Dow’s record 936-point advance Monday.

Most disheartening to investors yesterday was a Commerce Department report showing more evidence that consumers – the engine of the economy – are clinging to their wallets amid growing layoffs and plundered retirement accounts.

The report said retail sales dropped 1.2 percent last month, marking the third-straight month of declines, and shattering expectations that consumers would pull back at a slower rate of just 0.7 percent.

Things could get worse, said John Lonski, chief economist with Moody’s Investors Services.

“As bad as retail sales were for September, let’s not lose sight of the fact that a significant portion of those results were posted prior to the demise of Lehman Brothers,” said Lonski, who’s predicting a quarterly decline of 3.1 percent, the biggest quarterly drop in consumer spending since the early 1980s.

Also choking investors’ confidence was the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book data, which offers an economic assessment of business conditions. The report said the economy and the job market continued to weaken in September, fanning fears a recession has already taken hold.

Shares of retailer Wal-Mart Stores fell $4.39 a share, or 8.1 percent, to $50.05. Credit-card processors also declined on fears of fewer transactions, with Visa down $7.86 a share, or 13.6 percent, to $49.75, and American Express off $3.78 a share, or 13.4 percent, to $24.41.

Investors also sent oil and other commodity prices plummeting on fears that a recession will curb demand.Crude oil, for example, dropped below $75 a barrel for the first time since September 2007.

The dive continued in the Asian markets at midday today. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock average slid 9.5 percent; Hong Kong’s key index lost 7.6 percent, South Korea’s Kospi slid 8.4 percent and Australia’s benchmark was off almost 7 percent.