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Stock losses mountingWall Street slumps as Wachovia, Caterpillar and others disappoint; oil briefly tops $90 a barrel; Dow down over 200 points.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stock declines accelerated Friday morning after Wachovia, Caterpillar and Honeywell all failed to meet earnings expectations, raising fresh concerns about weak third-quarter profits. Oil prices flirting with all time highs above $90 a barrel added to the early weakness. Photos On Oct. 19, 1987, the Dow fell 22.6% in a single day. Fortune asked 10 Wall Street veterans to share their memories of the crash. The Dow Jones industrial average (Charts) lost over 200 points, or 1.5 percent, in the early going, while the S&P 500 (Charts) index lost 1.2 percent. The Nasdaq composite (Charts) lost 1.4 percent. Stocks have had a tough week as investors digested another batch of weak earnings reports and tried to put into context what the run up in oil prices could mean for consumer spending and the economy going forward. Bank of America (Charts, Fortune 500)'s earnings disappointed investors Thursday, and Friday it was Wachovia (Charts, Fortune 500)'s turn. The nation's fourth-largest bank said earnings fell from a year ago, due to the credit market turmoil. Wachovia also said revenue rose slightly from a year ago. Both earnings and revenue were short of forecasts. Dow components Caterpillar (Charts, Fortune 500) and Honeywell (Charts, Fortune 500) also reported results Friday that were short of forecasts. Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar reported quarterly earnings rose versus a year ago, but results were short of estimates. The company also cut its fiscal 2007 outlook. Honeywell (Charts, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue and boosted its fiscal 2007 outlook. However, earnings were short of estimates and investors took a 'sell the news' response, sending shares lower. Tech earnings were more positive. Late Thursday, Google (Charts, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly sales and earnings that topped estimates. Also after the close Thursday, Advanced Micro Devices (Charts, Fortune 500) reported a lower-than-expected quarterly loss. Friday marks the 20th anniversary of Black Monday, one of the biggest market crashes in history, when the Dow lost 22.6 percent in a single day. U.S. light crude oil for November delivery briefly hitting a record above $90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before pulling back a bit. Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.43 percent from 4.49 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. COMEX gold for December delivery rose $2.50 to $771.20 an ounce. |
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