NEW YORK - US stocks tumbled for a second day on Thursday as Middle East violence pushed oil to a record and drove investors to safe-haven assets, such as bonds and gold.
Concerns about the prospects for corporate profits also persisted after newspaper publisher Tribune Co. posted a drop in quarterly earnings, while snowmobile and motorcycle maker Polaris Industries Inc. said earnings fell and showed further evidence that US consumers are pulling back on discretionary spending.
A brokerage downgrade of retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc., caused in part by steep energy prices, sent retail sector stocks lower.
"Everybody's just running for safety," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 166.89 points, or 1.52 per cent, to end at 10,846.29, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 16.31 points, or 1.30 per cent, to finish at 1,242.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 36.13 points, or 1.73 per cent, at 2,054.11.
"It's a combination of geopolitical events pushing oil almost to US$77," Mendelsohn added. "That, on top of what we've seen with earnings so far, the market's not impressed."
The Israeli army said a rocket fired by Lebanese armed group Hizbollah hit Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. Hizbollah denied firing a rocket at Haifa.
The Dow was down a total of about 250 points over two days.
All but three of the 30 Dow components were lower and the Nasdaq closed at its lowest level since October. The S&P 500 is also now negative on the year.
Stocks found little support from higher-than-expected profit reports from PepsiCo Inc. , the world's No. 2 soft drink company.
OIL NEAR US$77 AND WAL-MART FALLS
One of the bigger drags on the Dow and the S&P 500 was Wal-Mart, which slid 2.2 per cent, or 99 cents, to close at US$44.16 on the New York Stock Exchange after Merrill Lynch lowered its rating to "neutral" from "buy." Merrill said Wal-Mart's customers were grappling with steep energy prices, rising interest rates and stricter credit-card payment terms.
The Wal-Mart news hurt other retailers, sending the S&P retailing index down nearly 1 per cent.
Crude oil for August delivery surged to a record US$76.85 a barrel, the highest for a front-month contract since the New York Mercantile Exchange started trading oil futures in 1983. The Nymex August crude contract ended the session up US$1.75 at US$76.70, a record settlement price.
Oil prices had already reached record highs earlier in the day as supply worries were aggravated by a host of geopolitical concerns, including Iran's nuclear standoff with the West and damage to a Nigerian pipeline caused by explosions.
Gold futures, seen as a hedge against global risk, soared on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, with the August gold contract climbing US$3.20 to settle at US$654.40 an ounce.
US Treasury debt prices rose, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note 7/32 higher and the yield slipping to 5.08 per cent from 5.11 per cent on Wednesday.
PepsiCo said quarterly earnings rose and beat Wall Street estimates, pushing shares up 1.6 per cent, or 97 cents, to US$62.07 after hitting a record high of US$62.33.
The Polaris news continued the leisure industry's spate of bad news, coming the same day that recreational vehicle maker Fleetwood Enterprises posted lower-than-expected earnings. And on Wednesday, Brunswick Corp., the world's largest maker of recreational boats, cut its yearly outlook.
In NYSE trading, Polaris shares slid 2.7 per cent, or US$1.11, to US$39.54, while Fleetwood Enterprises stock lost 2.6 per cent, or 18 cents, to US$6.71, and Brunswick shares sank 4.4 per cent, or US$1.30, to US$28.25.
Trading was active on the New York Stock Exchange, where about 1.78 billion shares changed hands, above last year's daily average of 1.61 billion. On Nasdaq, about 2.10 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 1.80 billion.
On the NYSE, decliners beat advancers by a ratio of about 7 to 2. On Nasdaq, about four stocks fell for every one that rose.
- REUTERS
<i>US stocks:</i> Middle East crisis scares investors
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