Wall Street shares Close lower on fears of U.S., global economic slowdown

NEW YORK (AFX) - Share prices closed sharply lower on the DJIA, and modestly weaker on the Nasdaq composite, pressured by worries about the U.S. economic slowdown and declining global economies, dealers said. The DJIA closed down 317.2 points at 9,973.57, or 3.1 pct lower, contrasting with its intraday low of 9,895, and marking the first time since Oct 2000 that the blue chip index has closed below 10,000. The S&P 500 closed down 42.71 at 1,972.01, while the Nasdaq composite suffered a relatively modest decline, falling 42.71 to 1,972.07. Dealers said stocks opened lower and the selloff continued throughout the session. A modest amount of late session purchasing allowed major indices to finish modestly above their worst intraday levels, but the DJIA ended with heavy losses nonetheless. Dealers said today's negative market momentum focused on "old economy" stocks, forcing the DJIA to suffer its 3.1 pct loss, while the Nasdaq composite decline was more modest. They said investors today were preoccupied with worries that DJIA components until recently have been more immune than those of the Nasdaq to worries about the U.S. economic slowdown. In addition, a story in a Paris newspaper predicting that the Daiwa Bank may have to file for bankruptcy sparked concerns about the prospect of a global economic slowdown. Today's news sparked a general sense of nervousness about the stock market among investors. "Investors just want to get out of the market any way that they can," one dealer said. Hugh Johnson at First Albany said the main problem currently facing Wall Street is the "collective lack of confidence" from investors and the spreading of technology woes to the wider market. However, Jefferies & Co chief market strategist Art Hogan said today's sales on the DJIA were overdone, and even suggested that the intraday low of 9,895 represented the low point of the year for the blue chip index. Hogan said selling on the DJIA was driven by negative market momentum and not by corporate fundamentals. Other dealers noted that recent technology selloffs hves shifted considerable liquidity into "old economy" stocks, making their valuations rich when compared against current and forecast earnings. Among DJIA components, United Technologies closed down 4.26 usd at 74.99, Procter & Gamble down 1.54 usd at 66.00 amd General Motors down 1.44 at 55.00. The financial sector suffered especially heavy losses, due to concernproblems in Japan. Citigroup closed down 3.49 usd at 44.90, JP Morgan down 3.65 at 43.75, and American Express down 3.15 at 38.48. Morgan Stanley closed down 2.00 at 57.00, Goldman Sachs down 3.60 at 83.91, and Merrill Lynch down 2.30 at 52.70. The insurance sector closed mostly lower after yesterday's profit warning from MetLife, which ended down 2.93 at 28.75. Metlife lowered first-quarter earnings forecasts because of losses at its au to and home insurance divisions, which it blamed on a steep r

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