US shares plunge amid fears over debt By Michael Mackenzie and Francesco Guerrera in New York and Tom Braithwaite in Washington / Published: May 6 2010 20:40 The S&P 500 ended off 3.2 per cent, at 1,128.15, after a roller-coaster ride that recalled the dark days of the financial crisis. At 2.38pm in New York, the index was down 4 per+ cent. Six minutes later, it was down 8.6 per cent at 1,065.79. By 2.54pm it was back at 1,200. The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst intra-day points fall – 998.5, or 9.2 per cent – before ending down 3.2 per cent.
Trading in individual stocks was even more bizarre. Procter & Gamble, the consumer products giant, fell 37 per cent before ending 2.3 per cent lower. Some stocks – including Accenture, the consultancy – traded briefly at one cent or less.
Others: I looked for When Markets Collide by Mohamed El-Erian in a few bookstore futilly last week, but discovered that I already have a copy yesterday. Lucky.