Monday, June 6, 2011

Wall Street slide extends; European shares fall for fourth straight day

The S&P 500 extended its slide to a fourth day today, hitting its lowest level since March 18, as a spate of recent weak US data lent support to a bearish outlook for the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 61.15 points, or 0.50 percent, to 12,090.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 13.99 points, or 1.08 percent, to 1,286.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 30.22 points, or 1.11 percent, to 2,702.56

The broad-based S&P 500 hit its lowest level since March 23, when it hit 1,284.05. It could close below 1,300 for the first time since late March. The index is down more than 5 percent from its May high.

European shares slid for a fourth straight session on Monday, on concerns the pace of growth in the global economy could be slowing and with traders cautious on expectations the ECB may signal a July rate rise.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index fell 0.6 percent to 1,104.97, an 11-week closing low that continued a decline from Friday when weak US labour data added to uncertainty about the pace of recovery in the world's largest economy.

The Nikkei average closed at an 11-week low as speculation that Tokyo Electric Power Co could enter court-led restructuring pummeled its shares and fanned bearish sentiment that set in after soft US data. The Nikkei's break below key support highlighted the risk of further falls in the near term, with investors also fretting about slower global growth.

The Nikkei fell 1.2 percent to 9,380.35, breaking below its 9,400-10,000 range of the past two months, while the broader Topix declined 1.1 percent to 807.99, its lowest finish since mid-March.