U.S. stocks again lower in bumpy trading

NEW YORK -- The wild, bumpy ride on Wall Street continued Wednesday, with stocks opening sharply lower before rebounding and paring their losses.

A day after the Dow Jones industrial average mounted a comeback from a 464-point drop, the blue chip gauge plunged almost 264 points at the open of trading, before paring losses to down 155 points, or 1.3%, to 11817 about noon ET.

Investors are still debating whether the surprise three-quarter point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Tuesday was a sign that the economy is in worst shape than people thought — or whether the shock treatment to boost the economy will continue to provid e stability in global financial markets.

"With Apple being the best of breed and having all the right stuff, if they are not seeing demand, that means investors are taking out the best of the best," says Todd Clark, director of listed trading at Nollenberger Capital Partners .

The fact that the European Central Bank did not lower interest rates overnight in the wake of the Fed's rate cut Tuesday also was viewed negatively by investors who were looking for a coordinated rate-cut plan.

"Investors think we need global easing to help thwart a recession," says Andy Brooks, head trader at T. Rowe Price, a large mutual fund company.

The early weakness on Wall Street dragged the Nasdaq composite into official bear market territory, defined as a drop of 20% or more from a high.