Posted on: Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Earthquake worries put recent rally on hold
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Concerns over the economic impact of the Asian earthquake disasters pushed stocks lower yesterday, putting Wall Street's recent rally on hold.
Insurers, hotels and travel-related stocks fell as investors reacted to the devastation in Asia, which could be one of the costliest disasters in history, though the economic impact for the United States appeared to be minimal. And with trading volume very light during the holiday week, analysts said there was little to be divined from Wall Street's initial reaction.
Oil prices continued to drop despite wintry weather in the Northeast. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $41.32, down $2.86, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That took the edge off troublesome currency news, as the dollar fell to another new low yesterday against the euro.
Last-minute shoppers may have helped the retail sector exceed its diminished expectations for the year. According to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard International, retail sales rose 8.1 percent this holiday season, compared to a year ago. The National Retail Federation was expecting 4.5 percent growth; its figures have yet to be released.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 8 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 1.18 billion shares, compared with 1.23 billion on Thursday. Financial markets were closed Friday for Christmas Eve.
Analysts were generally pleased with the uptick in sales most retailers reported late last week and in post-holiday shopping. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. saw sales rise modestly, while Amazon.com Inc. reported record sales during the holiday season.
