WHITE HOUSE SAYS STOCK MARKET SOUND AND STRONG
Presidential spokesman Marlin
Fitzwater shrugged off yesterday's sharp decline on Wall
Street, saying the administration believes the stock market is
"fundamentally sound."
    Fitzwater attributed Monday's 57 point drop in the Dow
Jones industrial average at the closing bell to "technical
decisions" and said President Reagan's decision to impose trade
sanctions against Japan might have also contributed.
    "There are a lot of reasons that can cause this, but the
underlying fact is that we believe the market is very strong
and sound," he said.
    Fitzwater said the stock market had risen 239 pct since
Reagan took office on January 20, 1981.
    "The market, we believe, is fundamentally sound," he said.
    The presidential spokesman noted that at mid-day, the
market had recovered some of the losses that occurred on
Monday, when the third-worst one-day slump in Wall Street
history occurred.
 REUTER
