Observers of the day cited the fact that there were just too many bears for the market to continue to drop. Some have asked whether the so-called circuit breakers will help stop a panic crash. Forget about it. With recent changes approved by he SEC,, the DJIA must now drop some 900 points before a trading halt is declared. No matter - circuit breakers tend to accelerate rather than stop declines anyway.
Sellers see the target and want to get out before it's hit.
They'll readily sell at a small loss to avoid holding a big position with no way to get out. It's going to get very ugly very soon, possibly starting today. Indeed, it was such a busy week we almost forgot to mention that minor tremor on Monday evening. President Clinton did not deliver such a message. The post-confession rally leads one to believe the public was genuinely worried and then relieved about the whole affair.