Monday, March 14, 2011

Japan hurts markets, but selling could wane

US stocks fell in the aftermath of Japan's devastating earthquake, but other than specific industries such as nuclear power, the broad impact on equities was expected to be short-lived.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 51.24 points, or 0.43 percent, at 11,993.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 7.89 points, or 0.60 percent, at 1,296.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 14.64 points, or 0.54 percent, at 2,700.97.

European shares fell to their lowest level in three months, pressured by the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. 

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.5 percent at 1,116.90 points after touching its lowest intra-day level since Dec. 8, 2010.

Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the 2008 financial crisis, with investors eyeing a further drop as the uncertainty over the country's nuclear crisis compounds worries that the quake and tsunami will cause deeper economic pain than initially thought.

The TOPIX tumbled 7.5 percent on record trading volume as investors bailed out of big blue-chip companies seen taking a hit from the need for rolling electricity blackouts on top of the disruptions to supply chains following the massive quake.

The benchmark Nikkei index fell 6.2 percent to 9,620.49 and slumped to a four-month intraday low at one point, with technology companies such as Kyocera Corp and Canon Inc among the biggest drags on the market.