Another rout for Wall Street; S&P at lowest since 1997 (Reuters) (21-11-2008)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks plunged for yet another session on Thursday, with investors taking flight from stocks due to deepening economic fears. The sell-off drove Standard & Poor's 500 index to its lowest level since 1997 -- wiping out more than a decade of stock market gains.

The S&P 500 is now more than 52 percent below its October 2007 record high, making the current bear market the second biggest on record. The current decline is exceeded only by the 83 percent drop between 1930 and 1932, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

On Thursday, the price of oil hurtled below $50 a barrel, taking energy shares with it as dismal U.S. economic data intensified concerns of a long and deep global recession, crushing fuel demand expectations. Chevron tumbled more than 8 percent and dragged the most on the Dow.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 444.99 points, or 5.56 percent, to 7,552.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 54.14 points, or 6.71 percent, to 752.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 70.30 points, or 5.07 percent, to 1,316.12.

But after the closing bell, a bright spot emerged when shares of Dell Inc rose 6.3 percent to $10.43 after the world's No. 2 PC maker reported better-than-expected profit as cost cuts tempered lower revenue.

And while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they would suspend foreclosures of occupied homes until early 2009, earlier on Thursday, the number of American workers on the unemployment rolls surged to the highest in a quarter century, government data showed, while a regional manufacturing gauge slumped as the economic misery intensified. and the attempt by struggling automakers to get government help stalled in Senate, adding to the gloom. Democratic leaders warned the bill would not pass unless it included a plan for the industry to return to profitability.

Source: Reuters