April 7, 2011, 10:52 a.m. EDT
US Stocks Drop On Strong Japan Aftershock Quake
by Brendan Conway
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks turned sharply lower as investors reacted to a strong aftershock quake that struck northeastern Japan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 61 points, or 0.5%, to 12368 recently, led by Caterpillar (CAT) and General Electric (GE), each off 1.5%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 0.4% to 1330 and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.5% to 2787.
News reports indicated that a 7.4-magnitude quake jolted Miyagi Prefecture and was followed by a tsunami warning for coastal areas, sending stocks quickly lower.
Traders said news of the Japanese earthquake startled the market on Thursday and raised fears that another natural disaster could further slow the country's recovery from last month's crises.
"We certainly don't need another setback in the Japanese economy," said Mark Turner, head of sales at Instinet.
Stocks had drifted between positive and negative territory earlier in the session, as cautious comments from the head of the European Central Bank offset an unexpected drop in jobless claims and surprisingly strong same-store sales at retailers in March.
US Stocks Drop On Strong Japan Aftershock Quake
by Brendan Conway
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks turned sharply lower as investors reacted to a strong aftershock quake that struck northeastern Japan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 61 points, or 0.5%, to 12368 recently, led by Caterpillar (CAT) and General Electric (GE), each off 1.5%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 0.4% to 1330 and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.5% to 2787.
News reports indicated that a 7.4-magnitude quake jolted Miyagi Prefecture and was followed by a tsunami warning for coastal areas, sending stocks quickly lower.
Traders said news of the Japanese earthquake startled the market on Thursday and raised fears that another natural disaster could further slow the country's recovery from last month's crises.
"We certainly don't need another setback in the Japanese economy," said Mark Turner, head of sales at Instinet.
Stocks had drifted between positive and negative territory earlier in the session, as cautious comments from the head of the European Central Bank offset an unexpected drop in jobless claims and surprisingly strong same-store sales at retailers in March.
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