The Standard & Poor's 500 index entered bear market territory for the first time since 2002 on Wednesday, as shares on Wall Street were slammed by renewed mortgage market and economic concerns.
Considered by many as the bellwether for the US economy, the broad S&P500 closed at its lowest level since July 2006, down 29.02 points (2.28%) to 1244.68. It comes a week after the mega-cap Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped below the bear benchmark. The Dow also hit a near two-year low yesterday, falling 236.77 (2.08%) to 11147.44. The tech-heavy Nasdaq didn’t escape the damage, dropping 59.55 (2.6%) to 2234.89. Financials bore the brunt of the carnage after enjoying a stellar session on Tuesday, with mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae plunging 23.77% and 13.11% respectively....
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