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Stock collapse
NEW YORK, (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes swung wildly over the matter of moments Thursday, gyrations that had regulators and traders trying to determine how the chaos developed.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day down 3.2 percent, but the drop of about 350 points seemed tame compared to the day's bottom, which was nearly 1,000 points from the open. Other indexes were also slapped with the broader Standard & Poor's 500 matching the Dow's percentage drop and the Nasdaq composite off 3.4 percent.
That and the continuing concern that Greece's debt crisis is contagious and similar problems could bubble up in other countries, had markets around the world down Friday.
With the indexes showing huge changes, there were individual stocks that suffered though even wilder -- if short-lived -- swings. The Washington Post said shares in consulting firm Accenture, for example, went from $40 each to 1 penny before rebounding back to $40.
The confusion was such that Nasdaq said it would cancel trades that occurred from 2:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. if the stock involved was priced 60 percent less than before the period.
A New York Stock Exchange official said regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission were responsible, in that even though the NYSE had circuit breakers halt some trading, those stocks were available elsewhere, sending huge numbers of trades to other exchanges and causing prices into fall freely.
NEW YORK, (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes swung wildly over the matter of moments Thursday, gyrations that had regulators and traders trying to determine how the chaos developed.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day down 3.2 percent, but the drop of about 350 points seemed tame compared to the day's bottom, which was nearly 1,000 points from the open. Other indexes were also slapped with the broader Standard & Poor's 500 matching the Dow's percentage drop and the Nasdaq composite off 3.4 percent.
That and the continuing concern that Greece's debt crisis is contagious and similar problems could bubble up in other countries, had markets around the world down Friday.
With the indexes showing huge changes, there were individual stocks that suffered though even wilder -- if short-lived -- swings. The Washington Post said shares in consulting firm Accenture, for example, went from $40 each to 1 penny before rebounding back to $40.
The confusion was such that Nasdaq said it would cancel trades that occurred from 2:40 p.m. to 3 p.m. if the stock involved was priced 60 percent less than before the period.
A New York Stock Exchange official said regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission were responsible, in that even though the NYSE had circuit breakers halt some trading, those stocks were available elsewhere, sending huge numbers of trades to other exchanges and causing prices into fall freely.
