ITS A BEAR MARKET

U.S. stocks were battered Friday afternoon as investors rushed to dump
technology and financial stocks, sparked by unsettling economic data
solidifying inflationary fears.
"It's been hard for the market on a Friday to turn around and rally. I don't
think many people want to go long for the weekend," John Hughes, stock
market strategist at Shields & Co., told CNNfn's market coverage. "For the
first time, you're seeing some fear that's been lacking."
Around 3:00 p.m. US ET, the Nasdaq composite index plunged 263.83 points, or
more than 7 percent, to 3,412.95 - still a slight improvement from its
306-point session low. The index is now off more than 32 percent from its
record high set March 10 Wall Street's definition of a bear market.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial average skidded 479.10 points to
10,444.45, off over 4 percent, but also recovering from its 547-point
session low point. The broader S&P 500 index fell 64.44 to 1,376.07.
"If we don't have any relief over the last hour, this will fester over the
weekend and continue onto Monday," Larry Wachtel, market analyst with
Prudential Securities.
More stocks fell than rose. Decliners outpaced advancers on the New York
Stock Exchange 2,578 to 467 as 965 million shares changed hands. Losers beat
winners on the Nasdaq 3,888 to 543 on volume of more than 2 billion shares.
The dollar weakened against the euro and the yen. Treasury securities edged
lower.

Europe's major bourses closed heavily lower Friday after a U.S. economic
report that raised the specter of quickening inflation pushed Wall Street
shares down sharply.
The CAC 40 in Paris, heavily weighted with technology and media stocks,
tumbled 3.2 percent to 6,065.73, off more than 4.1 percent on the week.
Frankfurt's Xetra Dax fell 3.25 percent to 7,207.00, with index heavyweight
Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) off 6.2 percent. The index fell more than 4 percent
this week.
London's FTSE 100 index fell 2.8 percent to 6,178.1, with technology stocks
leading the market lower. Europe's biggest stock exchange closed down 6
percent on the week, while the SMI in Zurich shed 1.2 percent to 7,494.4 but
fell only 0.5 percent over the week.
The FTSE Eurotop 300, an index
of the largest stocks across Europe, shed 2.6 percent to 1,561.04, with the
telecom, computer and technology sub-indexes each falling more than 4
percent That was after the U.S. government reported that consumer prices in
February advanced at their fastest pace in nearly a year. The figures
sparked concern that the world's largest economy may not be immune to
inflation pressures, and may need higher interest rates to quell
accelerating price rises.
In midday trading on Wall Street, the technology-laden Nasdaq composite
index fell 8.2 percent to 3,375.11, while the Dow Jones industrial average
skidded 3.5 percent to 10,545.97.
The latest declines have left leading European indexes well below their
peaks for the year. Friday morning the FTSE 100 was about 9 percent down
from its early-January high, while Frankfurt's Dax was about 8 percent off
its more-recent record. But equity strategists at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
said they see markets falling between 8 and 12 percent further before
recovering by the fourth quarter.
"This is a correction, not a bear market," said Richard Davidson, European
equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, predicting that technology, media and
telecommunication shares will underperform the wider European equity market
by 15 percent, already having fallen an average of about 22 percent since
peaking in March.

Asian markets closed lower on Friday, ending an erratic week as leading
computer chip and telecommunications companies across the region fell under
the sway of continued losses on the Nasdaq.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 91.74 points, or 0.45 percent, to close at
20,434.68, reducing its gain for the week to 0.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang
Seng index fell 1.3 percent, or 209.8 points, to close at 16,142.76, ending
with a loss of 4.7 percent from a week ago.
The Singapore Straits Times edged up 1.2 percent to 2,174.17, accelerating
its move into the black late in the session as strength among property and
banking shares overcame declines in the electronics sector.
In the U.S. Thursday, the technology-laden Nasdaq composite ended down 2.5
percent. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average fell 201 points, almost
2 percent, to 10,923.55.
In the currency market, investors awaited this weekend's meeting of G-7
ministers in Washington, looking for signals of concerted currency action.
The dollar was little changed against the yen at ¥105.85. Market experts
expected the Bank of Japan to maintain its zero-interest rate policy ahead
of the G-7 meeting. An interest-rate hike in Japan would likely boost the
yen's value.