Stock investors are running out of places to hide.
Experts are quick to point out that conditions are far different now than back then.
It would signal that not only the New Economy but also the Old Economy is breaking down. With Internet and tech stocks so badly battered, portfolio managers looking to lock in profits or raise cash before the end of the quarter have little left to sell but their blue-chip holdings. Mutual fund investors, who have yet to bail out of the market, may rethink their strategies as losses mount. This week, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is expected to cut interest rates at least one-half percentage point to buoy the sagging economy. But even that may provide little respite for the markets.