Obscure economic outlook drags US stocks down; Dow and Nasdaq down 76pts and 48

US stocks recovered slightly in early session yesterday. Fed issued economic monthly report saying that the economy will remain sluggish, which caused the market to worry the economic outlook and corporate earnings performance. Accordingly, the US stocks churned down, among which technology stocks suffered the biggest selling pressure. Dow & Jones Industrial Average lost 76.76 pts, or 0.7% to close at 10871.62 pts, while Nasdaq eroded 48.29 pts, or 2.23% to finish at 2121.66 pts. Standard & Poorˇ¦s 500 Index also witnessed a loss of 14.25 pts, or 1.14% to end at 1241.6 pts.

Technology sector dropped broadly, some even posting a down-range of more than 10%. Micromuse and Brocade comms slumped 18.98% and 11.11% to finish at US$35.25 and US$41.93. Other big names, Cisco System (4333), Intel (4335), Microsoft Corp (4338) and Dell Computer (4331) all erased 6.63%, 3.55%, 1.93% and 3.49% to close at US$19.02, US$29.06, US$70.69 and US$25.19 respectively. 

US 30-year treasuries yield edged up by 0.009% to end at 5.654%.

European stocks were dragged by the drooping US stocks, UK Financial Times up 16.2 pts, or 0.28% to close at 5820.2 pts. British Telecom gained 3.81% to end at 16.5 pennies.

French CAC 40 Index rose 41.69 pts, or 0.78% to close at 5353.63 pts.

German DAX Index increased 52.79 pts, or 0.87% to finish at 6111.94 pts.

London Hong Kong stocks rose after initial decline, with HSLRI inching down 1.08 pts over the closing in Hong Kong yesterday to close at 13524.39 pts.

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