Wall Street falls amid Japan earthquake news

Dow Jones: 12,409.49 (–17.26) SP 500: 1,333.51 (–2.03) Nasdaq: 2,796.14 (–3.68):US STOCKS fell yesterday, dragging the Dow Jones Industrial Average down from an almost three-year high, as another earthquake shook Japan and a dispute over the federal budget threatened to shut down the American government.

“It’s body blow after body blow,” said Matt McCormick, a Cincinnati-based money manager at Bahl and Gaynor, which oversees $3.6 billion. “The market has faced a series of black swans. We don’t know the impacts of the Japan situation. We don’t know what will happen in the Middle East. In addition, people are skittish because of all the budget discussion and concern about the future of monetary and fiscal policies.”

Caterpillar and Cisco Systems lost at least 1 per cent to lead declines in the Dow.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 17.26 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 12,409.49.

The Standard Poor’s 500 Index lost 2.03 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 1,333.51.

The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 3.68 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 2,796.14.

Crude rose above $110 a barrel for the first time in 30 months as a fire burned at Libya’s Sarir field, bolstering concern that unrest in North Africa and the Middle East will spread, curbing shipments.

Applications for jobless benefits fell 10,000 in the week ended April 2nd to 382,000 Labor Department figures showed.

Gap slipped 1.5 per cent to $22.72. Same-store sales dropped 10 per cent, compared with the estimated decline of 7.3 per cent.

KLA-Tencor fell the most in the SP 500, sinking 4.6 per cent to $44.06.

Lam Research dropped 5 per cent to $53.52. The maker of chip-manufacturing equipment may disappoint investors when reporting earnings for the current quarter as demand slows, Citigroup said.

Bed Bath and Beyond gained 10 per cent to $54.55. The home furnishings retailer forecast annual earnings of $3.38 to $3.53 a share. That compares with the average analyst projection of $3.33, Bloomberg data show.

Costco Wholesale rose 3.8 per cent to $77.82. The US warehouse-club chain reported total comparable sales rose 13 per cent in March, beating the 7.4 per cent estimate. – (Bloomberg)