Stock market suffers, falls to 1997 levels.

February 23, 2009 – 11:54 pm – No Comment

7,114.78, that’s the number that the Dow Industrial Average settled at today. This is the lowest the index has closed since May of 1997, almost 12 years ago…

This index has almost been cut in half since its highs in October 2007.

Oil also fell today to below $38 a barrel. Oil is also way down from its July 2008 highs of nearly $150 a barrel.

This is another sad and depressing day on Wall Street.

“People left and right are throwing in the towel,” said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services.

Investors pounded most financial stocks even as government agencies led by the Treasury Department said they would launch a revamped bank rescue program this week. The plan includes the option of increasing government ownership in financial institutions without having to pour more taxpayer money into them.

Although the government has said it doesn’t want to nationalize banks, many investors are clearly still concerned that this could be a possibility as banks continue to suffer severe losses because of the recession. They’re also worried that banks’ losses will keep escalating as the recession sends more borrowers into default.

“The biggest thing I see here is the incredible pessimism,” Springer said. “The government is doing a lousy job of alleviating fears.”

The trading session on Wall Street today was shadowed and hopefully things in the future will be better and we have seen the bottom of our economic slump.

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