What a Week: World of Hurt

In overseas markets, the Shanghai Composite recaptured some of its losses, sliding just 6.8% on the week. Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 5.3%. The weakness overseas wasn't limited to Asia. The broad MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 8.1% for the week.

Within the U.S., stock market declines were broad-based even as some investors started to look for bargains. Traders mentioned dipping into housing stocks and even some of the subprime mortgage lenders, hoping the worst was over. But given that the indices ended Friday's trading session at the day's lows, hopes for a stock market bottom were dim.

"Never on a Friday," says Jeffrey Saut, chief equities strategist at Raymond James & Co. "Markets never bottom on a Friday after a week like this. Participants go home and brood about it." Saut believes there may be a "tradeable low" on Monday or Tuesday, but that would just lead to a three-to-five-day "throwback rally."

Overall, "the consternation isn't over," he says. "The market had a heart attack, and a heart attack patient doesn't get right off the gurney and run the 100-yard dash. The market shouldn't either."

Only two Dow stocks were in the green Friday as declines of more than 2% each in General Motors(GM Quote), Citigroup(C Quote) and JPMorgan Chase(JPM Quote) led the index south. Merck(MRK Quote) was up a fraction, and American International Group(AIG Quote) jumped more than 3% on a strong earnings report.