Stocks Plummet

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 360 points Friday -- the 20th anniversary of the Black Monday crash -- as lackluster corporate earnings, renewed credit concerns and rising oil prices spooked investors.

The major stock market indexes turned in their worst week since July after Caterpillar Inc., one of the world's largest construction equipment makers, soured investors mood Friday with a discouraging assessment of the U.S. economy. In a week dominated by mostly negative results from banks facing difficult credit markets and rising mortgage delinquencies, investors appeared surprised that an industrial name was feeling an economic pinch, too.

Reports from Honeywell International Inc. and 3M Co., themselves big industrial names, gave investors little incentive to take chances on the market. In one bright spot, Google Inc. rose after reporting stronger-than-expected profits.

Investor sentiment took another hit when Standard & Poor's downgraded another batch of residential mortgage-backed securities, adding to investor unease about credit quality. The latest reduction follows a similar move earlier in the week and affects more than 1,400 classes.

And oil prices appeared on some investors' list of worries after briefly moving above the psychological barrier of $90 per barrel for the first time.

"I was not surprised there was some correction, given our expectation that earnings growth was going to fall short of expectations," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist, director of asset allocation for Trusco Capital Management.

"I think stock analysts were slow to incorporate the impact of the subprime crisis on third-quarter earnings," he added.

The Dow fell 366.94, or 2.64 percent, to 13,522.02. The Dow was down for the fifth straight session and for the week was off 4.05 percent. For the year, the blue chip index is now up 8.5 percent.

Broader stock indicators also fell sharply Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 39.45, or 2.56 percent, to 1,500.63, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 74.15, or 2.65 percent, to 2,725.16.

Wachovia Corp. fell $1.74, or 3.6 percent, to $46.40 after reporting third-quarter profits fell 10 percent due to write-downs related to difficult credit market conditions. The nation's fourth largest bank signaled increasing credit troubles ahead.

Google rose $5.09 to $644.71 after the search engine leader said advertising spending lifted third-quarter profit by 46 percent.