Stocks on Wall Street slupped as fresh hints of a slowdown in manufacturing renewed concerns about the pace of the US economic recovery.The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier gains and closed below the 10,000 mark at 9985.81, a drop of 74.25 poin
Stocks on Wall Street slupped as fresh hints of a slowdown in manufacturing renewed concerns about the pace of the US economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier gains and closed below the 10,000 mark at 9985.81, a drop of 74.25 points or 1.2%.
The market reversed an early climb after the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s manufacturing index, which measures productivity, fell to 0 this month from 14 in July. Readings above 0 denote expansion.
On a brighter note, the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell more than expected, by 31,000, to 473,000, against expectations of a decline of 10,000.
The Dow's drop was led by Cisco Systems, which fell 1.9%, and Intel and IBM, which each declined 1.7%. Also weighing on the measure were Wal-Mart Stores, which fell 1.3%.
The S&P 500 index finished down 1.2% at 1047.22, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.1% to 2118.69.
Other markets: Europe, Asia mixed
European stocks rose on upbeat corporate results.
Crédit Agricole lifted the banking sector, rising 2.7% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter net profit, while French cosmetic group L'Oreal climbed 3.9% after it reported a 22% increase in first-half net profit and spoke confidently about the second half of the year.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up 0.9% at 249.65, only its second gain in the last seven sessions. The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.9% to 5155.84, France's CAC-40 index firmed 0.7% to 3475.03 and Germany's DAX added 0.2% to 5912.58.
In Asia, Japanese technology exporters climbed on the yen's pullback from recent sharp gains, while Chinese coal shares rose on hopes of industry consolidation.
The Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.7% higher at 8906.48, snapping a four-session losing streak that dragged the benchmark to a 16-month closing low on Wednesday.
China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.3% to 2603.48 and India’s Sensex was up 0.3% to 18,226.35. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1% to 20,612.06 and Taiwan’s Taiex was down 0.6% to 7689.74.
Woolworths climbed 2.4% in Sydney after announcing that it will conduct an off-market share buyback. The S&P/ASX was up 0.8% to 4389.38.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Crude futures rose as a large drop in new US jobless claims provided a counter to the negative economic indicators that had sent oil prices toward a two-month low.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery traded up 28USc, or 0.4%, at $US72.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange rose $US1.05, or 1.4%, at $US74.53 a barrel.
Gold futures were under pressure, as investors shifted to stocks, oil and other assets seen as riskier after the drop in US jobless claims.
Gold for December delivery fell $US2.30, or 0.2%, to $US1,239 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar down, pound up
The US dollar briefly dropped to its lowest level since January 19 against the Swiss franc, which has been on an upward march in recent days.
The dollar was also down slightly against the yen, despite Japanese officials again ramping up their rhetoric against the yen's recent strength.
Higher-yielding currencies, including the euro and the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars also advanced against the greenback, though they pared some of their gains as U.S. equities markets swung to a loss.
The UK pound gained, supported by the strong British retail sales, which rose above a three-year high in August.
The dollar was at ¥84.67, off from ¥84.71 late on Wednesday, while the euro was at $US1.2713, up from $US1.2650, and at ¥107.64, up from ¥107.16.
The pound was at $US1.5549, up from $US1.5447, while the dollar was at 1.0250 Swiss francs, a recovery from a seven-month low at 1.0222 francs but down from 1.0307 francs late on Wednesday.
