WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Dow drops below 11,000 for 1st time in 2 years
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-12 00:15 Investors remain cautious about the entire financial sector, especially ahead of second-quarter reports due next week from major names like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. JPMorgan declined $1.70, or 4.9 percent, to $32.79 and Merrill fell $1.91, or 6.6 percent, to $26.80. There are also new reports that InBev NV raised its takeover offer Anheuser-Busch Cos. The maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers is expected to approve the new offer, which values the company at $70 a share, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Anheuser-Busch rose $4.62, or 7.6 percent, to $65.83. In economic news, the United States' trade deficit narrowed in May as exports -- including industrial supplies and consumer goods -- climbed to all-time highs. The Commerce Department said growing exports drove the trade gap down to $58.8 billion, a 1.2 percent decrease from April and the best showing since March. Investors are also examining a better-than-expected reading of the mood of consumers. The Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index rose to 56.6 for July from 56.4 in June. It had been expected to decline. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 575.6 million shares. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 9.03, or 1.35 percent, to 661.41. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.21 percent. In afternoon trading in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.68 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 1.89 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 2.46 percent. |
