Wall Street down as GM slides on Chinese sales

Dow Jones: 12,584.17 (–139.41) SP 500: 1,335.10 (–12.22) Nasdaq: 2,814.72 (–13.51)US STOCKS tumbled yesterday, as energy and raw-material companies slumped following the biggest plunge in commodities in two years.

Newmont Mining and Chevron slid at least 2 per cent as metal prices sank and oil fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since March 17th.

General Motors dropped 3.1 per cent after saying Chinese sales slipped.

FedEx, operator of the biggest cargo airline, and Macy’s, the second-biggest US department- store chain, rose at least 2.9 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 139.41 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 12,584.17.

The Standard Poor’s 500 Index fell 12.22 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 1,335.10.

The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 13.51 points, or 0.48 per cent, to 2,814.72.

“Commodities had a big run and nobody expected prices to remain at those levels,” said James Dunigan, chief investment officer in Philadelphia for PNC Wealth Management.

“It’s not a bad thing that oil and other commodities are down. That will put less pressure on prices, which is good for consumption. The economy is on firmer footing and corporate earnings are doing very well,” he said.

The SP 500 rose 7.1 per cent in 2011 through yesterday amid government stimulus measures and higher than forecast corporate earnings.

Earnings per share beat estimates at 73 per cent of the 398 companies in the SP 500 that reported results since April 11th, according to Bloomberg.

More Americans unexpectedly filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments last week, pushed up by three factors that normal seasonal variations failed to take into account, the Labor Department said.

Applications for jobless benefits jumped by 43,000 to 474,000 in the week ended April 30th, the most since August, Labor Department figures showed yesterday.

A spring break holiday in New York, a new emergency benefits program in Oregon and auto shutdowns caused by the disaster in Japan were the main reasons for the surge, a Labor Department spokesman said. – (Bloomberg/ Reuters)