Unclear corporate earnings outlook drags US stocks, Dow and Nasdaq down 181 pts

GEˇ¦s unoptimistic attitude towards the acquisition of Honeywell approved by the European supervision institution brought Honeywell to nosedive 12.21%. Plus, the obscure corporate profit outlook clouded the broad market, which caused the US stocks to plummet through the 10700 pts, creating a new low for 7 weeks. Dow & Jones Industrial Average Index lost 181.49 pts, or 1.67% to close at 10690.13 pts, while Nasdaq eroded 77.59 pts, or 3.66% to end at 2044.07 pts. Standard & Poorˇ¦s 500 Index also diminished 21.73 pts, or 1.75% to finish at 1219.87 pts.

Nasdaq declined for the consecutive 5 days and registered a down-range of more than 3%. Major technology stocks still underwent pressure, with Micromuse plunging 31.74% and Siebel Systems down 13.1%. Cisco System (4333), Intel (4335) and Microsoft Corp (4338) all shed 6.73%, 4.99% and 2.53% to finish at US$17.74, US$27.61 and US$68.9 respectively.

US 30-year treasuries yield erased 0.018% to end at 5.636%.    

European stocks were dragged by the US stocks, with UK Financial Times down 67.7%, or 1.16% to close at 5752.5 pts. Vodafone lost 4.23% to 164 pennies.

French CAC 40 Index cast off 56.56 pts, or 1.06% to end at 5297.07 pts.

German DAX Index slipped 80.67 pts, or 1.32% to close at 6031.27 pts.

London Hong Kong stocks revived after initial decline, with HSLRI down 30.25 pts over the closing yesterday in Hong Kong to finish at 13218.64 pts.

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