Dow drops below 13,000 for first time since August

This little story is off MSNBC News:

NEW YORK - Wall Street ratcheted its way through a fractious session Monday before finally closing lower on expectations of further fallout from the ongoing credit crisis. The Dow Jones industrials, up more than 100 points during the day, ended below 13,000 for the first time since August.

Stocks lost ground for the fourth straight session. Analysts said investors had few reasons to sustain a rally, even with many stocks at enticingly low prices after recent routs. The Nasdaq composite index was the biggest decliner among the major indexes as investors sold technology stocks.

News stories kept the subprime contagion in focus. Late Friday, E-Trade Financial Corp. said the value of its mortgage-backed securities has fallen significantly and that it will need to take bigger-than-expected write-downs in the fourth quarter.

[....]

“The problem is just the mood of the market,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, said of Wall Street. “There is a tense feeling that there will be still more problems with the subprime situation and a fear that things are going to get worse rather than better.”

[....]

The Dow fell 55.19, or 0.42 percent, to 12,987.55, after falling 4.06 percent last week.

The last time the Dow traded below 13,000 was on Aug. 17, when it index hit a low of 12,847.24, and the last time it closed below 13,000 was on Aug. 16, when it ended at 12,845.78.

The Dow has fallen 1,210.55, or 8.53 percent, from the all-time trading high of 14,198.10 that it reached Oct. 11. Its record high close was 14,164.53, set Oct. 9.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index on Monday fell 14.52, or 1 percent, to 1,439.18, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 43.81, or 1.67 percent, to 2,584.13.

I'd say that investors are in a really sour mood, when looking at what has been happening with the subprime mortgage mess, and how it has been causing banks to write off huge losses on mortgage-backed securities and derivatives. So now the Dow has dropped below 13,000. With two months left in the year, I wonder if the Dow is going to give back all of its gains for the year?