Gloom hangs over market

THE Dow Jones industrial average fell below its post-September 11 closing low at midday yesterday territory already visited by the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 with Johnson & Johnson the big loser amid concern about a government investigation.

At about 11.40am ET, the Dow fell 255.65 to 8,153.84, below the closing low of 8,235.81 it hit on September 21. The Nasdaq composite index lost 23.15 to 1,333.80. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index lost 20.35 to 861.76.

“The gloom and the pessimism is so pervasive, it’s going to take a lot of work so people feel better about investing,” Peter Mancuso, a New York Stock Exchange specialist at Performance Specialty Group said. ”People who look at charts are telling me the 8,000 level is a very important resistance point and if the market sells through 8,000 it could be very negative,” he added.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by 11-to-4 as 667 million shares changed hands. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers 7-to-3 as 978 million shares traded.