Stocks fell for the fourth straight session today as fears that President Bush’s stimulus plan will not be enough to stave off a recession dissipated an early rally, MarketWatch reports. The Dow ended down 59.91 at 12,099.30, and the Nasdaq fell 6.88 to close at 2,340.02. The S&P 500 dropped 8.06 points to 1,325.19, capping its biggest weekly loss in 5 years.
The markets initially looked as though they might rebound after strong fourth-quarter earnings reports from IBM and GE. But a feeling that the stimulus plan was not as strong as had been expected soured sentiment, as did Sprint’s report of poor results, which stoked fears that the housing slump is affecting consumer spending. (More Dow Jones stories.)