Posted on: Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Markets flounder on conflicting news
By Michael J. Martinez
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Nagging worries about inflation bogged Wall Street down yesterday, with investors sending stocks lower as they tried to reconcile solid economic and earnings news, reports of anthrax discovered at the Pentagon and a gloomy outlook on semiconductor stocks.
That made it difficult for Wall Street to rise on good news from the retail sector. While the 0.5 percent growth in February retail sales fell slightly below Wall Street expectations, the Commerce Department revised its January figure upward, and auto sales were surprisingly strong.
"There's a malaise hanging over the market right now without much of a catalyst to move higher," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke LLC.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 59.41, or 0.55 percent, to 10,745.10. The S&P 500 index was down 9.08, or 0.75 percent, at 1,197.75, and the Nasdaq lost 16.06, or 0.78 percent, to 2,034.98.
Oil prices rose as investors worried that OPEC may not follow Saudi Arabia's lead and increase production. A barrel of light crude rose to $55.05 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 9 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 1.93 billion shares, compared to 1.85 billion on Monday.
Concerns that higher oil prices, which topped $55 per barrel, would accelerate inflation and lead to rising interest rates eroded investor confidence, and the Pentagon's announcement about an anthrax discovery in its mailroom added to the unease. The tech sector was hit hard after a Merrill Lynch analyst said growth in chip stocks would be stalled for much of the year.
