Market falls on recession fears but Fed cut helps

Stock market trader
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange January 22, 2008 in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A surprise rate cut coming from the Federal Reserve appeared to calm investors somewhat after dramatic drops overseas.

Stocks battled back from a precipitous decline. The Dow suffered a drop of 465 points in the first few minutes of trading.

At session's send, the Dow was down 128 points to 11,971.

The S&P 500 dropped 14 and a-half points to 1,310 and the Nasdaq composite lost nearly 48 points to 2,292.

Declining issues topped advancers by a 3 to 2 margin.

Volume on the NYSE came to more than 6.2 billion shares. Nasdaq volume was 3 billion shares.

The Federal Reserve cut benchmark rates by three-quarters of a point. Many observers are betting there will be another rate cut when the central bank meets next week.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.