Emergency cut

Stocks ended in the red Tuesday, but it could have been far worse as investors around the world sold off stocks in fear of a recession. Widening fears of a U.S. recession led to sharp declines in overseas markets prior to Tuesday's opening bell in New York. The Federal Reserve's decision to cut its key interest-rate target by three quarters of a percentage point slowly attracted buyers back throughout the day. Brokerage firms were boosted by the prospect of lower borrowing costs due to the Fed cut. Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns all rose more than 4%. Overall on Tuesday, 1,419 stocks were up and 1,783 were down at the New York Stock Exchange. DJIA -128.11 Nasdaq -47.75 S&P 500 -14.69