Wow!
Stocks that would be hurt by Obama's preference for stiff regulations, such as banks, sold off sharply. And to make matters worse Wednesday, worries about Europe's debt crisis returned to the top of investors' what-to-worry-about list.
Add it all up and what you get is a "Molotov cocktail that created a pretty severe bout of selling," says Andy Busch, a public policy strategist at BMO Capital Markets.
To say the negative mood hurt stocks would be an understatement, as Wall Street was awash in red ink all day. The damage inflicted was severe. About $400 billion in stock market value vanished in the trading session, according to Wilshire Associates.
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