Stocks fell yesterday as the market, affected by signs of a worsening Asian backdrop, drew little solace from the resignation of President Suharto after a week of rioting in Indonesia.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 39 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 9,132.37 after surrendering an early 30point gain that put the blue-chip barometer within 10 points of May 13th's record of 9,211.84.
Broader indexes also retreated some sharp gains on Asian markets after the latest developments in Indonesia. Many observers expressed scepticism over Suharto's decision to end his 32-year reign by naming his vice-president, B.J. Habibie, to take his place.
Big-name technology shares took another beating amid mounting profit worries. Last week, Hewlett-Packard and National Semiconductor both warned of weak results, blaming Asia's economic crisis for at least some of their troubles.
Overseas, Tokyo's Nikkei stock average rose 1.2 per cent and London's FTSE-100 rose 0.6 per cent. German financial markets were closed for the Ascension Day holiday.
There was little market reaction to a Labour Department report saying the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits edged higher last week.
Economists had expected the increase and said it did not signal any real deterioration in the robust demand for labour, which in April pushed the US unemployment rate to a 28-year low of 4.3 per cent.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve officials decided against slowing the economy with higher interest rates despite concerns that a strong job market will force employers to boost wages and raise prices.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 39.11 to 9,132.37.
The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 4.42 to 1,114.64, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 10.76 to 1,820.99.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 7-to-6 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,347 up, 1,578 down and 599 unchanged.
NYSE volume totalled 550.89 million shares as of 4 p.m., versus 586.33 million in the previous session.
The NYSE composite index fell 1.73 to 576.90, and the American Stock Exchange composite index rose 0.14 to 732.36.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.34 to 467.20.
