dow falls sharply in late trade, page-2

Thanks SB. It seems that the 10,000 pyschological level has been a target for the past three days. For the second time in three days, bears have come to life in the last hour of trading to push down the DJIA as close down to the 10,000 as possible. On Monday they tried to set a negative tone by setting the index down 0.6%. Desired effect was reached on Tuesday with the market taking the cue and running down close to 3% with no "real" reason and then it rallied back almost to breakeven again with no "real" reason other than a vague suggestion by Barney that investment banks will be allowed to keep their derivatives trading arms.

Some folks strongly view the S&P500 as a better benchmark, but the importance of the psychological 10,000 level for the Dow cannot be overstated. In my view the 10,000 level has been under attack for the past three days by a handful of hedge funds. Nothing like the last few hours of US trading to wreak havoc on world markets the following days.

"Being played like a violin"