Stocks on Wall Street fell as investors question whether last week's US Federal Reserve stimulus, the so-called QE2, will do what it's intended to do. The market might have become overly priced, especially as worries remain over the financial health of s
Stocks on Wall Street fell as investors question whether last week’s US Federal Reserve stimulus, the so-called QE2, will do what it's intended to do.
The market might have become overly priced, especially as worries remain over the financial health of some euro-zone members.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed 37.24 points, or 0.3%, to 11,406.84 when the market closed at 10am (NZ time).
Boeing was the measure's worst performer with a drop of 1.8%, after Aviation Week reported that the company has told several of its early customers that delivery of the 787 Dreamliner will be delayed by as long as 10 months.
McDonald's was also weak, off 0.3%. The fast-food giant's same-store sales rose 6.5% in October from a year earlier, topping its own forecast and analysts' estimates. But investors were disappointed by a 5.6% increase in US comparable sales, which came in short of analysts' forecast for a 6% gain.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced marginally to 2580.05 while the S&P 500 index was down 0.2% at 1223.24.
The declines came as the market digested the Dow's 2.9% climb last week that brought the measure to highs not seen since before the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. The measure is up about 14% from late August,
Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
Irish banking stocks tumbled as worries about the country's financial health intensified. Most European stock markets traded lower.
German industrial production unexpectedly fell in September from the previous month as the economic recovery proceeded more moderately.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.3% at 271.22, while London's FTSE 100 Index was down 0.4% at 5849.96. Frankfurt's DAX was down 0.05% at 6750.50 and Paris's CAC-40 Index was off 0.08% at 3913.70.
Most major Asian stock markets climbed as gains in gold and oil prices last week boosted commodity-related shares, while Japanese investors cheered recent reports of strong earnings and sales among car makers.
The Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.1% to 9732.92, Korea's Kospi edged up 0.2% to 1942.41, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% to 24964.37 and China's Shanghai Composite climbed 1% to 3159.51.
In Sydney, Qantas Airways lost 2.1% due to uncertainty over the grounding of its Airbus A380 superjumbo jets after last week's engine blowout over Indonesia. The S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5% to 4778.44.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Oil futures fell after earlier hitting a fresh two-year high, as the dollar gained ground against the euro.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery lost 35USc, or 0.4%, at $US86.50 a barrel in New York after touching a two-year high of $US87.49 a barrel in Asia trading. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell 38USc, or 0.4%, at $US87.73 a barrel.
Gold futures settled above $US1400 an ounce for the first time, fuelled by uncertainty ahead of the G-20 summit in Korea, where the focus is on currency issues.
The most actively traded gold contract, for December delivery, settled $US5.50, or 0.4%, up at $US1403.20 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Euro down
The euro was sharply lower against the dollar and the yen as investors became more bearish on credit-default-swap bets. Credit-default swaps, or the cost of insuring against bond defaults, went up overnight on the sovereign debt of Ireland, as well as of Portugal and Spain.
Disappointing German industrial production figures for September also contributed.
The euro was at $US1.3891 from $US1.4034 late on Friday. The dollar was at ¥81.18 from ¥81.34, while the euro was at ¥112.78 from ¥114.15.
The UK pound was at $US1.6132 from $US1.6187. The dollar was at 0.9660 Swiss franc from 0.9621 franc.
