The S&P 500 and Dow climb to their best levels of the session and
then run into some resistance. The recovery effort was broad-based,
led by financials (+1.1%).
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona said on CNBC that the Senate's bill is a
pretty strong package, and the market sell-off makes the case for the
bill more compelling.
Ford (F 4.52, -0.68) reported a sharper-than-expected drop in September
North American auto sales. Specifically, sales fell 35%
year-over-year, which was larger than the expected decline of 22%.
September was the lowest sales month for Ford this year.
Yesterday, President Bush signed a bill into law that gave U.S.
automakers a $25 billion low interest loan, although who gets loans
will not be determined until the Energy Department writes the
regulations, according to The Wall Street Journal. The loan is meant to
help U.S. automakers adjust to the recently raised fuel efficiency
requirements.