Stocks plunge on concerns about Greece’s debt

In one of the most dizzying hours in stock market history, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged nearly 1,000 points Thursday
afternoon amid worries about European debt before recovering two-thirds of its losses to close down 347 at 10,520.

But all the major indexes lost 3 percent in a day that recalled the market turmoil of the 2008 financial crisis.

There were reports that a technical glitch hastened the selling. Even so, emotions were running high. Traders are concerned
that Greece's economic problems will hurt other European countries and ultimately, the U.S. recovery.

Protestors raged against austerity measures passed by the Greek parliament as traders watched on TV. But investors were not
comforted by the fact that Greece seemed to be working towards a resolution of its debt problems. Instead, they focused on
the possibility that other European countries would also run into trouble, and that the damage to their economies could spread
to the U.S.

Computer trading intensified the losses as programs designed to sell stocks at a specified level kicked in. Traders use those
programs to try to limit their losses when the market is falling. And the selling only led to more selling as prices fell.

"I think the machines just took over. There's not a lot of human interaction," said Charlie Smith, chief investment
officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "We've known that automated trading can run away from you, and I think that's
what we saw happen today."

There were reports that a technical glitch hastened the selling. Stock in the consulting firm Accenture fell to 4 cents after
closing at $42.17 on Wednesday. It was priced at about $41 in the last half-hour of trading.

New York Stock Exchange spokesman Raymond Pellecchia said he was unaware of any problems with the exchange's trading
systems but was looking into whether an error occurred.

Even if there were technical issues, emotions about the world economy were running high. Down 998.50 points in its largest
point drop ever, the Dow recovered to a loss of 505. Meanwhile, interest rates on Treasurys soared as traders sought the safety
of U.S. government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which moves oppoosite its price, fell to 3.39 percent from
late Wednesday's 3.54 percent.

"The market is now realizing that Greece is going to go through a depression over the next couple of years," said
Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. "Europe is a major trading partner of ours, and this threatens the
entire global growth story."

The stock market has had periodic bouts of anxiety about the European economies during the past few months. They have intensified
over the past week even as Greece appeared to be moving closer to getting a bailout package from some of its neighbors.

The losses in stocks were so widespread that just 173 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, compared to 3,002 that
fell.