The Dow Jones Industrials closed down for a sixth day on Thursday. There's still plenty of fear that credit markets could break down and hurt the economy and earnings, but a remarkable late-day surge almost brought the Dow back into the black.

Blue chips recovered 300 points in the last 45 minutes of the day, and the broader S&P 500 clawed back into positive territory finish up on a rebound in beaten-down bank and brokerage stocks.

Taking a look at the numbers, the Dow Jones Industrials dropped just 16 points 12,846; the S&P500 is up 5 points closing at 1,411, and the Nasdaq eased 8 points to finish at 2,451.

Economic news depressing the market throughout the day came from the Census Bureau which reported that housing starts fell 6. 1 per cent and building permits fell to an annual rate of 1.37 million. Both have hit their lowest level in more than a decade. In company news, the latest news from Countrywide Financial sent its shares down another 10.99% to $18.95. The country's largest mortgage lender said it drew down an entire $11.5 billion bank credit line provided by 40 large banks. The drawdown should help Countrywide conduct daily operations but shows how liquidity strains have spread. All three major US credit rating agencies downgraded Countrywide debt, and at least two analysts have raised the possiblity of bankruptcy for the lender