Trading on Wall Street lessened yesterday and the stock markets moved a step toward stabilizing on the second day the markets opened following the terrorist attacks of September 11.
Nearly 1.7 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday after almost 2.4 billion shares traded hands Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.30 points, to 8,903.40, after a 7.1 percent plunge the previous day. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dipped less than a percentage point to 1,032.74, after a near-5 percent drop the day before. However, the Nasdaq composite index continued to fall more precipitously, dropping 24.47 points, or more than 1.5 percent, to 1,555.08. It had lost 6.8 percent on Monday. All three indexes are at their lowest levels since late 1998.
Some sectors that had fallen sharply on Monday, among them retailers, bounced back a small amount.
The dollar declined 0.3 percent against the euro and 0.4 percent against the yen. Since the terrorist attack, the dollar is off 3.1 percent against both currencies.
Bond prices also sagged, representing an abrupt change from the market reaction late last week, when bond trading resumed. Then bond prices leaped, pushing down interest rates as investors sought safe investments.