The auction was for credit default swaps, which are contracts used to insure against the default of financial instruments like bonds and corporate debt. Traded in a $60 trillion, unregulated market, many of the instruments have fallen sharply because of their ties to bad mortgage debt. Those big losses and nervousness about who holds what CDS has made financial institutions hesitant to lend to one another. The auction could help the market determine which companies are most at risk from CDS losses.

Market index stats tell horror story of Wall Street

• The Dow has lost 1,874.19 points, or 18.2 percent, over the past week. Its dismal performance outdid the week that ended July 22, 1933, which saw a 17 percent drop — and back then, during the Great Depression, there were six trading days in a week.

• The Dow has fallen for eight straight sessions — the longest losing streak since the eight days of declines following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when the blue chips lost 1,038.12, or 10.8 percent.

• It's been the worst run for the Dow since the nearly two-year bear market that ended in December 1974 when the Dow lost 45 percent.

• Just a year ago, on Oct. 9, 2007, the Dow and the S&P 500 hit their record highs. Since then, the Dow has lost 5,713 points, or 40.3 percent, since closing at 14,164.53. The S&P 500, meanwhile, is off 665.90 points, or 42.5 percent, from its peak of 1,565.15.

Broader stock indicators were mixed Friday.

The S&P 500 index fell 10.70 or 1.18 percent, to 899.22. The 18.2 percent drop for the week was the S&P's steepest decline since the week ending May 21, 1933; its worst loss was in 1929, when it fell 19.9 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.39, or 0.27 percent, to 1,649.51.