Dow's Three-Day Win Streak

The Dow today extended a streak of gains to three days—though just barely, closing up 36.47 points to close at 8,479.86. Stocks were way up early on news of more government steps to unfreeze consumer credit, with JPMorgan Chase getting the biggest bounce, gaining 8.3 percent. But amid further signs of a weakening economy—newly released statistics that the third-quarter GDP was much worse than expected were particularly painful—the markets slid. The Dow wound up slightly ahead, as did the S&P 500, but the Nasdaq slid seven points. Overseas, most Asian markets gained, as did European stocks.