Stocks Tumble After Bear Stearns Bailout

The market's fall Friday caps a big week for the markets. On Monday, stocks continued a sell-off from last week, falling more than 1 percent as oil again moved into record territory. Then, on Tuesday, stocks surged after the Fed said it would put up $200 billion to loosen tight credit markets. The Dow surged nearly 417 points, its biggest one-day percentage gain in five years. Stocks posted more modest losses and gains Wednesday and Thursday as investors speculated over how much help the Fed's plan would ultimately provide.

On top of Friday's concerns, Wall Street remains anxious for Tuesday's Fed meeting at which the central bank is still expected to lower interest rates. While Wall Street would welcome cheaper access to cash to help consumers and businesses, the freer flow of money could would likely fan inflation concerns and could further weaken the dollar.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished down 1.54 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 1.07 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.75 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.82 percent.

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