US stocks fell on Thursday, with Bank of America, General Electric and Intel among the decliners, as disappointing data on the US housing and job markets sparked concerns over the pace of the economic recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 41.49 points (0.42%) to 9,732.53, its lowest close since Oct. 30, 2009. Thursday marked the measure's sixth-straight daily drop; it hasn't had such a long losing streak since January.
Bank of America was the Dow's worst performer, with a drop of 35 cents (2.4%) to $14.02. General Electric was also weak, down 30 cents (2.1%) to $14.12, and Intel dropped 20 cents (1%) to $19.25.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 7.88 (0.37%) to 2,101.36, its lowest close since Nov. 4, 2009. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 3.34 (0.32%) to 1,027.37, the measure's lowest close since Oct. 2, 2009.
The declines came as data showed US pending-home sales plunged 30% in May, the first month after the homebuyer tax credit expired. In addition, the Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing index dropped more than expected, and weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose.
Ford Motor jumped 49 cents (4.9%) to $10.57, after the car maker posted a 13% jump in June US light-vehicle sales on high demand for its cars and trucks, as well as higher retail and fleet sales. Ford also said its retail market share grew for the 20th time in 21 months.
Apollo Group climbed 87 cents (2.1%) to $43.34, after the for-profit education company forecast fourth-quarter earnings above analysts' expectations.
WellPoint fell $1.14 (2.3%) to $47.79. The health insurer is backing off its plan to increase prices by as much as 39% for individuals in California, instead seeking rates for this year that it said would result in a $100m loss for the company there. The announcement weighed on other health-care companies. Cigna dropped $1.20 (3.9%) to $29.86, Humana slipped $1.08 (2.4%) to $44.59, and Coventry Health Care slid 49 cents (2.8%) to $17.19.
Dendreon dropped $2.20 (6.8%) to $30.13, after the US government said it would begin a coverage analysis on whether the company's expensive immunotherapy treatment for prostate cancer is "reasonable and necessary."
MSC Industrial Direct declined $1.02 (2%) to $49.64. The distributor of industrial and maintenance products posted a 59% increase in fiscal third-quarter profit on improved sales, but it forecast current-quarter earnings below analysts' estimates.
For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton gained 43 cents (0.69%) to US$62.42, Rio Tinto Plc advanced 66 cents (1.51%) to US$44.26, ResMed slipped $1.20 (1.97%) to US$59.61, Telstra Corporation weakened 40 cents (2.92%) to US$13.29, Telecom Corporation of NZ fell 10 cents (1.55%) to US$6.34 and Westpac weakened 88 cents (0.99%) to US$87.70.
At 7:45 AM (AEST), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 2.95% and the five year yield was 1.80%.
European shares ended with big losses on the first day of the third quarter, with softer data from China and the US underlining doubts about the global economic recovery.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 2.5% to close at 237.30.
Carmakers were among the losers, with luxury car maker BMW falling 4.7% and rival Daimler losing 3.6%. Renault shares fell 4% and Peugeot shares tumbled 4.8%. French new car registrations fell 1.2% in June.
A small decline on Wednesday meant that the index ended the second quarter with a loss of 7.7%, with the worries that kept stocks under pressure in the first half showing no sign of abating in the new quarter.
China's official purchasing managers index for June fell to 52.1, compared with 53.9 in May, Britain's June manufacturing PMI slipped to 57.5 in June from 58.0 in May and the US ISM index fell to 56.2% from 59.7% in May while pending home sales plunged 30%.
Of the major European regional benchmarks, the UK FTSE 100 index dropped 2.3% to close at 4,805.75, the German DAX index lost 1.8% to settle at 5,857.43 and the French CAC-40 index ended 3% lower at 3,339.90.
Deal speculation provided a bit of a focus in Europe, with shares of Chloride falling 4.1% to 370 pence after Swedish-Swiss engineering giant ABB said it has decided not to match a nearly 1bn pound offer by Emerson Electric Co. to buy the British power systems specialist. The Emerson bid is worth 375 pence a share. ABB shares fell 2%.
Shares of sugar producer Tate & Lyle rose 1% after it announced it would sell its EU Sugar Refining operations to American Sugar Refining - better known as Domino Sugar - for GBP211m in cash. The deal is expected to be neutral to Tate & Lyle's adjusted fiscal 2011 earnings per share.
On the FTSE 100, Rio Tinto dropped 64.00 pence (2.16%) to 2,904.50 pence and BHP Billiton shed 60.00 pence (3.42%) to 1,694.50 pence.
Economic concerns continued to lead Asian stock markets lower as weaker-than-expected manufacturing data out of China hurt sentiment.
The Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.0% to end at 9,191.60, its lowest closing level since late November. China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.0%, while Hong Kong was closed for holidays.
New Zealand shares ended lower, weighed down by weak sentiment after a dismal night on Wall Street and soft data from China. The NZX-50 ended down 1.3%, or 38 points, at 2,933.82, a fresh 11-month low.
Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended sharply lower as a raft of disappointing economic reports painted a dispirited picture for the global economy. Aluminium fell $25 (1.27%) to $1,940 while copper weakened $90 (1.40%) to $6,360 and nickel dropped $500 (2.54%) to $19,150. Zinc shed $15 (0.85%) to $1,750 and lead lost $15 (0.86%) to $1,730. Comex copper was last quoted at 289.90 US cents per pound.
Gold futures lost nearly $40 to close at their lowest point in more than a month amid poor economic data as investors preferred the perceived safety of US Treasuries. Spot gold was last quoted at $1,200.65. Comex gold futures slipped $39.20 (3.15%) to $1,206.70. Spot silver was last quoted at $17.75.
Crude oil fell 3.5%, falling to three-week lows on fears that the economic recovery was stalling, slashing expectations for increased oil demand. West Texas Intermediate was last quoted at US$72.95 per barrel.
At 07:45 a.m. (AET) the US dollar was quoted at 0.7992 euros, 87.67 yen, 1.186 AUD and 65.94 pence.