Dow Jones Sinks 200 Points In Opening Moments

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The market opened up and the Dow Jones sank 200 points. This move is not completely unexpected, as signs of good news have been hard to find. Apparently the large, unexpected rate cut of Yesterday did little to assuage feelings of gloom. Disappointing earnings from the likes of Apple aren’t likely to help.

Wall Street also fell in tandem with markets in Europe, which pulled back after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet indicated that the ECB would not follow the Federal Reserve’s lead and cut interest rates, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The Fed’s decision Tuesday to cut its federal funds rate by 0.75 basis points to 3.5 percent eventually helped calm U.S. markets, but it was already clear that investors had doubts about the potency of the Fed action. Rate cuts typically take months to work their way into the economy.

Meanwhile, a disappointing forecast from Apple showed how fragile investor sentiment is.

The maker of the iPod issued a forecast for its fiscal second quarter that said sales would likely grow by 29 percent. The figure would represent faster growth than in earlier years but fell short of what Wall Street had expected.

More economic news and earnings reports are out today. It’s hard to see much to be optimistic about in the early hours of trading, but things can change in a hurry.

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