Wall Street falls 2%, TGIS!

Thank God It's Saturday! Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 2.09%, the worst setback in almost 11 months as investors continued to worry about President Barrack Obama's plan to restrict big banks. The benchmark crude for March delivery settled substantially lower at US$74.54 per barrel. Interestingly, thermal coal spot prices in Newcastle, benchmark for Asian market, advanced further to US$99.26/ton. 

JPMorgan, Credit Suisse, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Goldman, and Morgan Stanley lost 3-6%. Miners were also hit, led by Alcoa's -6% and Freeport McMoRan's -2.7%. 

Chevron and ConocoPhillips dropped 2.16% and 3.14% respectively as crude oil fell further to US$74.54/barrel. Crude has fallen 13% from its recent peak.

Thermal coal spot prices, meanwhile, looked strong. Other than 1.5% gain in Newcastle Port, Australia for the week ended January 22, spot prices in Richard Bay (benchmark for South Asia and Europe) stabled at US$87/ton, while DES ARA Index declined slightly to US$83.77.

Tech stocks? Well, Intel lost 4.46%, while Cisco -4.21%, Microsoft -3.5%, HP -3.9%, and IBM -2.71%. Consumers were the only gainers, but not significant to support the index. 

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