Posted at 1:02 p.m., Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Stocks slump as inflation fears trump earnings
• Hawai'i Stocks
• Updated Market Chart
By Meg Richards
Associated Press
Concerns about rising inflation trumped a slew of upbeat quarterly earnings reports, including better-than-expected results from Caterpillar and Intel Corp.
Stocks sank after the release of a Federal Reserve report showing expanded business activity from late February to early April but "uneven progress" in some parts of the country and higher inflation.
Price pressures were also highlighted by the Labor Department's latest Consumer Price Index, the most closely watched inflation gauge. Consumer prices jumped 0.6 percent in March, the biggest surge in five months.
The Dow closed down 115.05, or 1.14 percent, at 10,012.36. The average, which suffered three straight triple-digit drops last week, is now down 7.15 percent for the year.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid 15.28, or 1.33 percent, to 1,137.50. Its 2005 loss is 6.14 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index lost 18.60, or 0.96 percent, to 1,913.76.
Oil futures climbed 15 cents to settle at $52.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the government's weekly fuel inventory report showed a decline in crude and gasoline stores.
