Global slowdown worries weigh on Wall Street

Dow Jones: 10,913.38 (–240.60) Nasdaq: 2,415.40 (–65.36) SP 500: 1,131.42 (–28.98)US STOCKS fell yesterday, extending the biggest quarterly drop since 2008 for the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, after reports from China and Germany fuelled concerns the global economy is slowing.

Companies most tied to economic growth had the biggest declines among 10 groups in the S&P 500.

“It’s an accumulation of worries that keep dragging the market down,” John Carey, a Boston-based money manager at Pioneer Investments, said. The firm oversees about $250 billion.

“The economic news continues to be mixed and there’s still worry about the European debt situation and concern about our own political impasse in Washington,” he said.

“News like that definitely rings alarm bells for people and makes them more cautious about equities,” he said.

The S&P 500 on Thursday rose 0.8 per cent as lower than estimated claims for unemployment benefits helped offset losses in consumer and technology shares.

The index is heading toward its fifth monthly loss, the longest falling streak since March 2008.

Alcoa fell 4 per cent to $9.66.

General Electric lost 3 per cent to $15.38.

Halliburton dropped 4.6 per cent to $30.77, after the price of oil headed for the biggest quarterly loss since the 2008 financial crisis.

American Express fell 2.9 per cent to $45.37.

JPMorgan declined 2.4 per cent to $30.64.

Global equities fell after a report showed a gauge of Chinese manufacturing shrank for a third month, the longest contraction since 2009, as measures of new orders and export demand declined.

Micron Technology slid 14 per cent to $5.06, the biggest loss in the S&P 500. The largest US maker of computer-memory chips reported a loss of 14 cents a share for the fourth quarter on weak demand for personal computers.

Ingersoll-Rand fell 12 per cent to $28.10, the second biggest drop in the S&P 500. The company that makes products such as Club Car golf cars and Schlage locks forecast third quarter earnings to be no more than 80 cents a share, below an earlier prediction of at least 85 cents. – (Bloomberg)