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CNN Live At Daybreak

America's New War: New York Financial Markets Open for Second Day

Aired September 18, 2001 - 07:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And the New York financial markets open for a second day since the attack. The Dow lost seven percent, the Nasdaq six percent on Monday but analysts say it could have been much worse.

Let's check in now with Bill Hemmer, who is standing outside the New York Stock Exchange this morning after one of the single largest drops in the stock exchange's history -- good morning, Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning from down on Wall Street.

What seemed to be the most remarkable thing yesterday is that things went pretty much without a hitch when it came to trading at the New York Stock Exchange. We have been given some reports that some of the smaller brokerages did have difficulty placing some trades, but overwhelmingly, again, the system worked and that appeared to be the biggest relief.

But in the end the point loss was staggering. The Dow plummeted 684 points, a loss of seven percent. As one trader remarked, though, at least we opened. That was the biggest point to be made yesterday. And there was no true feeling of panic here yesterday and some suggested the loss was inevitable and traders believe they were not reacting to one day of news but rather four days, when you consider the market was closed since early Tuesday of last week.

And if yesterday was a day of emotion coming back to Wall Street just a few blocks from the World Trade Center, there was clearly a feeling that possibly today you're coming back to a feeling of reality, knowing the numbers yesterday and trying to get the market stable once again. But what a scene. Security was tight. Smoke filled the air throughout the concrete canyon down here on Broad Street. We're seeing more of that this morning, but not quite as much as yesterday, and although we're two and a half hours away from the open, the scene here appears to be a bit more calm.

That may change throughout the morning. We will watch it from here. Paula.

ZAHN: Thanks so much, Bill. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning.

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