Stocks on Wall Street ended lower for the sixth consecutive session as disappointing jobs and housing reports took their toll ahead of Friday's key payroll report.Home sales, manufacturing and jobless claims were all under expectations. The Dow Jones
Stocks on Wall Street ended lower for the sixth consecutive session as disappointing jobs and housing reports took their toll ahead of Friday's key payroll report.
Home sales, manufacturing and jobless claims were all under expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 41.49 points, or 0.4%, at 9732.53 at the close. Bank of America fell 2.7%, JP Morgan Chase slid 2% and American Express shed 0.9%.
Consumer stocks checked some of the losses. McDonald's rose 0.8%, while AT&T gained 0.5%. Microsoft advanced 0.7%.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.4% to 2101.36 while the S&P 500 index slid 0.3% to 1027.38, with the health-care and financial sectors lagging.
Ford Motor also rose 3.3% after reporting better-than-expected sales of light vehicles.
In economic data, US pending-home sales plunged 30% in May, the first month after the homebuyer tax credit expired.
The Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing index declined more than expected, to 56.2 in June, down from 59.7 in May. Economists were expecting a reading of 59.0 in June.
The number of US workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 13,000 to 472,000 in the week ended June 26. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected claims would fall by 2000.
Other markets: Europe, Asia down
European stocks started the third quarter in a slide. Weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data was the catalyst for a downturn in equities.
China's purchasing managers index fell to 52.1 in June from 53.9 in May, marking the second straight month of slower growth.
Basic resources took the brunt of the selling as base metals prices declined. ArcelorMittal fell 2.9% in Paris and Randgold Resources lost 5.4% in London.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 2.5% at 237.30. France's CAC-40 index lost 3% at 3339.90, Germany's DAX fell 1.8% to 5857.43, and the UK's FTSE 100 index slid 2.3% to 4805.75, a 2010 closing low.
Economic concerns led Asian stocks lower again. Japanese stocks tumbled for a fifth straight session, even as the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey showed that large manufacturers' business sentiment turned positive for the first time in two years.
The Nikkei Stock Average fell 2% to end at 9191.60, its lowest closing level since late November.
China's Shanghai Composite fell 1% to 2373.79, Korea's Kospi gave up 0.7% to 1686.24, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.5% to 4237.46, Taiwan's Taiex lost 1% to 7254.06 and India's Sensex gave up 1.1% to 17,509.33. The Hong Kong stock market was closed for a holiday.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Crude-oil futures tumbled below $US73 a barrel to the weakest price since June 9, extending earlier losses after another wave of disappointing US economic data.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery was down $US3.19, or 4.1%, to $US72.44 a barrel in New York, trading in a range of $75.40 to $72.36.
Crude hasn't settled below $US73 a barrel since June 8. August North Sea Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US3.16, or 4.2% lower, at $US71.85 a barrel.
Gold futures were retreating as investors favoured government bonds over the metal as a safe haven.
The most-actively traded gold contract for August delivery was down $US28.50, or 2.3%, at $US1217.40 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar down, euro up
The dollar dropped broadly against rivals after worse-than-expected US economic data.
The dollar is now at a seven months against the yen and has also dropped to its lowest level since May against a trade-weighted basket of its competitors.
The euro advanced strongly against the dollar on a successful Spanish government-bond auction, which sparked confidence in the region's banking system. The euro advanced solidly beyond $US1.24, gaining more than 1.6%.
The euro was at $US1.2472 from $US1.2229 late on Wednesday.
The dollar was at ¥87.45 from ¥88.39, while the euro was at ¥109.07 from ¥108.10.
The UK pound was at $US1.5134 from $US1.4939.
