US mkts slips on credit crisis fear

CNBC's Margaret Brennan - Fear of the credit crisis once again rattled Wall Street’s nerves on Tuesday with Lehman Brothers, the casualty. Rumors of credit damage swirled until the company refuted reports that it had borrowed money from the Federal Reserve to bolster its balance sheets. Still shares ended the day down by 9.5%. Wall Mart and Home Depot were two of the blue-chips that helped to off-set the Dow’s losses but the Dow still dropped by 100 points. The Nasdaq was also in the red by 11.

The US dollar got a boost today as Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke said further interest rate cuts are unlikely and that the dollar slide against other currencies has led to a rise in inflation. Oil prices declined along with the dollar’s gain, with Nymex crude oil falling by USD 3.45/bbl, in Newyork trading session settling below USD 125/bbl. Shares of Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest energy company also took a tumble down more than 2.