Dow drops 200 points amid Libya turmoil

CNNMoney ^ | 2/22/2011 | Hibah Yousuf

[Signalman]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Libya's escalating political crisis sparked a sell-off in U.S. stocks Tuesday, with the Dow down more than 200 points during the final hour of trading, as oil prices continued to skyrocket.

Ongoing weakness in the housing market also added pressure after a report showed that national home prices fell 4.1% during the fourth quarter of 2010.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 205 points, or 1.7%. Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) was one of the worst performers on the Dow, with shares down almost 4% after the retailer reported disappointing U.S. sales figures.

The S&P 500 (SPX) was down 30 points, or 2.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) shed 77 points, or 2.7%.

[DManA]

BTW, gold is DOWN 8 bucks.

[jdsteel]

IMHO, this is a chance to lighten up on high quality bond funds and start dollar cost averaging by a teeny bit into big domestic equities.

[Eyes Unclouded]

Good thing we have confident leaders in charge of our foreign policy and military. I’m sure they will sort this out soon.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

The market has been begging for a correction. It has been floating on a sea of Fed-pumped liquidity and little else. That liquidity gets yanked and we will see some eye-popping declines. IMO the highs are in for this cycle, possibly til later this year. But there is one hell of a canyon to bridge before *that* prediction can be reasonably made.

[AU72]

Has Barry banged in to the West Wing yet after his long weekend?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

What are you smoking!

GOLD is UP $9.90.

[steve86]

There is always some little thorn that pierces a bubble.

The blame can’t really be laid on the thorn; afterall, thorns are common and without intent.

The blame has to fall on the bubble itself and those who created it (Fed, Wall Street, et. al.).

[FightforFreedomCA]

...and your “president” is asleep at the wheel, or eating ice cream.

[wxgesr]

BUSH IS IN BED WITH BIG OIL...oh wait a minute...

[Teacher317]

Libya? Nothing to do with union protests spreading to several states? It's friggin' LIBYA that worries investors?

I really hate these moronic daily reports that ascribe vast market moves to a single (usually unrelated) event. I did not change any of my portfolio today simply because of Libyans yelling at Libyans, and I doubt that any significant portion of the market did either.

[DManA]

Here’s where I’m looking:

http://si.advfn.com/p.php?pid=commoditiesqkquote&symbol=COM^GC\J11

[SaxxonWoods]

Looks like the DOW closed down about 178. I’m surprised it held up this well, given the boatload of bad and scary news extant at present.

[Free Vulcan]

The market was due for a selloff. It ain’t much of a selloff though.

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

I’m going off the actual Dow ticker. (At the close) Dow down 178, Oil up $7.37, Gold up $9.20, Silver up $.74 at $33.02.

I made a move to Silver today. Got in late and still made 1%.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

No it did NOT drop because of the Libya turmoil. Everyone LIES! It dropped because some big fat finger on Wall Street just decided it would be a good time to fall. Libya is an insignificant tin-pot dicator-run useless country which has little or no effect on our economy. Bookseller Barnes and Noble (BKS) fell 14+ percent today on lies as well. The markets are now a TOTAL manipulation.

[DManA]

Are you a trader or is this a long term investment? I made a move to Silver today.

[sappy]

does everyone love us yet?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

This is Long term, however modified for quick moves. I go through a broker and have a direct feed to my accounts.

[DManA]

May I ask what form you buy it in?

(Just idle curiosity.)