S&P 500 falls below 1000 despite government moves

Another broad selloff pulled the S&P 500 Index below the 1000 level for the first time in five years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 508 points, or 5 percent, to close at 9447 Tuesday. The S&P500 Index lost 61 points, or 5.7 percent, closing at 996.23, its lowest close since October, 2003.

The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 108 points, or 5.8 percent, to close at 1754.88.

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With Tuesday???s loss, the S&P500 Index has now lost 32 percent this year.

Tuesday???s selloff continued a three-week market decline, despite more signs of government intervention to prop up the markets. The Federal Reserve will move to buy commercial paper, or short term unsecured loans made to businesses that fund everything from equipment purchases to payrolls.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a speech in Washington, indicated another interest rate cut was coming, saying market developments have raised concerns about growth while inflation concerns have eased.

A separate report Tuesday showed consumer credit, that is borrowing for everything from car loans to credit card debt, fell by $7.9 billion, the biggest decline in consumer borrowing on record, as tighter lending standards and banks hording cash has pinched consumer access to credit.

In testimony on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Congressional Budget Office director Peter Orszag estimated U.S. pension funds have seen assets decline by as much as $2 trillion, or 20 percent, in the past 15 months.