The Dow Toll: Down 507 Points in 5 Days
By JEFF SOMMER
Published: January 20, 2008

The stock market fell every day last week, despite statements by Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and by President Bush, aimed in part at reassuring investors.

Separately, the Fed chairman and the president said that they would support tax rebates and other measures intended to stimulate the economy. And Mr. Bernanke hinted that the Fed was on the verge of cutting short-term interest rates again. The markets are predicting a cut of at least half a percentage point by Jan. 30.

But reports showing that the economy has been slowing, and enormous write-downs of assets by big financial institutions, including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, deepened the gloom.

For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 507 points, or 4 percent, to close at 12,099.30. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 75.83 points, or 5.4 percent, to close at 1,325.19. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 99.92 points, or 4.1 percent, to close at 2,340.02.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.63 percent, from 3.78 percent the previous week.

JEFF SOMMER