The news of the plane crash spread quickly, but few imagined what
had really happened. Was it a large or small plane? Was it an accident? Or
was there something more sinister going on? Although nobody knew the
answers yet, immediately the stock index futures market traded down a
few points, as it often does when uncertainty increases. Within a few min-
utes, however, buyers reappeared and the index returned to its previous
level, as most traders concluded that nothing significant had happened.
Fifteen minutes later, at 9:03, with news cameras focused on the
World Trade Center and millions around the world watching, a second
plane crashed into the Towers. The entire world changed in that mo-
ment. Americans’ worst fears had been realized. This was a terrorist at-
tack. For the first time since World War II, America was under direct
attack on its own soil.
By 9:05, two minutes after the second crash, the S&P futures
plunged 30 points, about 3 percent, indicating that if the exchanges had
222 PART 3 How the Economic Environment Impacts Stocks
FIGURE 13–1
S&P 500 Futures Market on Tuesday Morning, September 11, 2001