GM stock falls below $1
Automaker slides to 75 cents as investors brace for expected bankruptcy filing.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors' stock price plunged below $1 a share Friday, reaching its lowest level since the Great Depression, as investors anticipated a bankruptcy filing by the beleaguered automaker.
GM (GM, Fortune 500) stock closed at 75 cents, down more than 33% from Thursday's $1.12 close.
GM's stock has been flirting with 1930s-era prices in recent months as a bankruptcy seemed inevitable. The stock touched $1 in intraday trading on May 13, and hasn't closed that low since April 19, 1933. On that date, GM closed at 97 cents, adjusted for splits.
As recently as 2007, the stock was trading above $40 a share. The Detroit-based automaker's stock price peaked on April 28, 2000, when it closed at $93.63. At the time, auto sales were at a record high.
More recently, the automakers have been struggling to survive under the weight of the recession and high fuel prices, which have drastically reduced sales.
GM is expected to file for bankruptcy next week, despite an agreement reached Thursday with the Treasury Department and a committee of major bondholders.
Chrysler, another of the Big Three automakers, filed for bankruptcy April 30 and is awaiting a ruling from Judge Arthur Gonzalez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, where proceedings have been underway this week.
The other of the Big Three automakers, Ford Motor, rose 19 cents to $5.75. Ford has not sought government aid during a period of sales declines.