a small dose of reality

Stocks fell sharply Friday, with the Dow ending over 200 points lower, as mortgage-induced losses at Wachovia and Fannie Mae riled traders already nervous that the woes could spread to the wider economy.

The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average (Charts) lost about 1.7 percent and the broader S&P 500 index (Charts) fell 1.4 percent.

The tech-fueled Nasdaq (Charts) got hammered, tumbling 2.5 percent.

"It got pretty ugly," said Alec Young, an equity strategist at Standard and Poor's Equity Research. "There's just an unprecedented number of negatives coming at the market."

Those negatives include the triple threat of restricted access to credit, a downturn in the housing sector and near record oil prices, said Young.

"People are more and more worried about recession," he said.

For the week, the Dow lost 4.1 percent, while the S&P fell 3.7 percent. The Nasdaq was the biggest loser, dropping 6.9 percent.

Copywrite 2007  -  Barry G.