Wall Street reverses early gains

Reuters

UP: Wall Street got off to a positive start

Relevant offers

Market Data

Euro falls, shares retreat on Greek fears Stocks swing on euro zone headlines NZ dollar up on strong retail spending Stocks slip with profit taking Markets retreat as Greeks scramble for cash Stocks slip after Mainfreight result Kiwi falls on European downgrades Stocks gain on Greek vote; euro dips Greek deal fans risk asset buying Finance and business diary

The Dow industrials closed below 10,000 for the first time since November  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 percent, while JPMorgan slipped 1.6 percent, and Citigroup shed 2.2 percent.

The S&P financial index  dropped 2.2 percent as the KBW bank index dipped 1.5 percent.

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 percent from its 15-month closing peak of Jan. 19. The S&P 500 is still up 56.2 percent from its March 2009 bottom.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 103.84 points, or 1.04 percent, at 9,908.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 9.45 points, or 0.89 percent, at 1,056.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 15.07 points, or 0.70 percent, at 2,126.05.

Bank of America shares fell to $14.48, while JPMorgan dropped to $37.70. Other financial sector casualties were Travelers Cos Inc, the largest publicly traded US property-casualty insurer, off 2.5 percent at $49.05 and American Express Co, down 2.8 percent at $36.79.

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 percent at $194.12. Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc also fell, sliding 1.4 percent to $37.51.

A brokerage upgrade helped Home Depot Inc buck the negative trend, rising 2.2 percent to $28.59. 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 percent to $34.71. CVS rose 5.3 percent to $32.72. 

- Reuters