Trading Low-Key, but Most Shares Slide
Wall Street greeted news of U.S. military attacks on the Taliban in Afghanistan with relative calm Monday, but most shares still closed lower.
The Dow Jones industrials ended down 51.83 points, or 0.6%, to 9,067.94, after falling as low as 9,012.30 early in the day.
The Nasdaq composite inched up 0.65 point to 1,605.95. It was down as much as 31 points early in the session.
Trading was muted because banks and some other institutions were closed in observance of Columbus Day.
Defense stocks were broadly higher, and there was some nibbling in the tech sector.
But investors pulled away from shares of retailers, casino operators, hotels, banks and other businesses that could be hurt by a prolonged slump in consumer spending. Many of those stocks had rebounded in the last two weeks after diving in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Monday’s market action reflected “a combination of things,” said Bill Barker, investment strategy consultant for brokerage Dain Rauscher in Dallas. “There is some concern on the part of some investors about the [U.S.] retaliation. There is also some profit-taking from the extraordinary strong run” of recent sessions.
The Dow had jumped 3.1% last week; the Nasdaq composite surged 7.1%.
“The market is attempting to stabilize,” said Alan Ackerman, analyst of Fahnestock & Co.
Even so, losers topped winners by 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange and by4 to 3 on Nasdaq.
Many investors are awaiting third-quarter corporate earnings reports to get a better sense of the damage done to the economy by the terrorist attacks and their aftermath. The bulk of those reports will be released starting next week.
Asian stock markets tumbled Monday, reacting to the U.S. strikes on Afghan targets. Hong Kong’s key index slid 3% and the South Korean market fell 1.1%.
But Europe’s major markets rallied from an early sell-off to close little changed. The main German share index rose 0.2%. Britain’s key index slipped 0.1%.
The U.S. Treasury bond market was closed for Columbus Day.
In commodities trading, crude oil prices were slightly higher while unleaded-gasoline futures continued to slide.
Among Monday’s highlights:
* Consumer-related shares off sharply included cruise ship operator Carnival, down $1.49 to $22.03; hotel operator Marriott, down $1.11 to $32; casino giant MGM Mirage, down $1.10 to $22.61; and retailers Target, off $1.36 to $31.45, and Wal-Mart, down $1.29 to $51.11.
* Bank stocks continued to slide after U.S. Bancorp’s warning Friday of rising loan losses. U.S. Bancorp fell $1.56 to $16.88, Wells Fargo slid $1.38 to $41.67 and Comerica lost $1.95 to $48.80.
* Steel maker Nucor tumbled $4.22 to $36.52 after Prudential Securities cut its rating on the stock to “sell” from “hold,” citing near-term earnings uncertainty.
* Gains in some computer and semiconductor stocks lifted Nasdaq. Dell Computer added 56 cents to $23.12. KLA Tencor jumped $2.95 to $36.36.
But Nextel Communications fell 80 cents to $7.94 after Merrill Lynch reduced its rating on the wireless networker’s stock to “neutral” from “accumulate.”
* Defense issues gained in the wake of the U.S. strikes. Among the stocks hitting 52-week highs were General Dynamics, up $2.39 to $94.99; Alliant Techsystems, up $2.99 to $92.60; and Lockheed Martin, up $1.38 to $49.11.
* Tobacco stocks rallied as some investors looked for relative safe havens. Philip Morris added 48 cents to $50.64; RJR Tobacco rose $1.04 to $60.60.
Market Roundup, C10, C11
