Man vs machine at the NYSE
At the New York Stock Exchange, floor traders have learned to co-exist with computers as the role of technology grows.
The Dow industrials closed below 10,000 for the first time since November overnight as investors sold bank shares due to heightened concerns about the euro zone's sovereign debt troubles.
Bank of America shares lost more than 3 per cent, while JPMorgan slipped 1.6 per cent, and Citigroup shed 2.2 per cent.
The S&P financial index dropped 2.2 per cent as the KBW bank index dipped 1.5 per cent.
Concerns about the fiscal stability of Greece, Portugal and Spain have rattled global markets over the last two weeks, curbing the appetite for riskier assets.
"The market is still being pressured by concerns about Europe, and banks are being pressured more so because of their possible exposure to the sovereign debt issues, specifically that of Greece," said Frank Pavilonis, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.
Wall Street has slid through critical levels, with the Dow now back below 10,000 and the benchmark S&P 500 now off 8.1 per cent from its 15-month closing peak of Jan. 19. The S&P 500 is still up 56.2 per cent from its March 2009 bottom.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 103.84 points, or 1.04 per cent, at 9908.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 9.45 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 1056.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 15.07 points, or 0.70 per cent, at 2126.05.
Bank of America shares fell to $US14.48, while JPMorgan dropped to $US37.70. Other financial sector casualties were Travelers Cos Inc, the largest publicly traded US property-casualty insurer, off 2.5 per cent at $US49.05 and American Express Co, down 2.8 per cent at $US36.79.
The financial sector is also under pressure due to tougher rules the Obama administration proposed recently to curb banks' risk-taking.
The sell-off was broad-based, with all but two of the 30 Dow components ending lower.
On Nasdaq, shares of Apple Inc, the maker of the iPhone, were a major drag, ending down 0.7 per cent at $US194.12. Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc also fell, sliding 1.4 per cent to $US37.51.
A brokerage upgrade helped Home Depot Inc buck the negative trend, rising 2.2 per cent to $US28.59. In its upgrade of Home Depot, Morgan Stanley said it was optimistic about the home improvement chain's prospects as the housing market begins to recover.
Other gainers included Hasbro Inc and CVS Caremark Corp, both of which rallied after reporting stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
Hasbro, the No. 2 US toy maker behind Mattel Inc, also said it expects its revenue and profit to rise in 2010, sending its shares up 12.7 per cent to $US34.71. CVS rose 5.3 per cent to $US32.72.
Reuters
