NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wall Street reverberated Thursday with the problems of financial markets around the world, as a meltdown in Russia added to simmering troubles in Asia and sent global investors running for the exits.
Fears that the looming problems of financial markets from Moscow to Tokyo and Hong Kong could cause a worldwide economic slowdown and hurt U.S. growth and corporate profits weighed heavily on market players' minds.
The latest bearish spasm came as Russian stock markets collapsed and influential financier George Soros, known for his ability to move international currency markets, sent a letter to Britain's Financial Times newspaper, urging Moscow to devalue the ruble.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 93.46 points, or 1.09 percent, lower at 8,459.50. On the New York Stock Exchange, volume was heavy and market breadth was negative with declines leading advances 1,919 to 1,074 as 662 million shares changed hands.
The Nasdaq Composite shed 22.99, or 1.26 percent, to 1,802.54 and the S&P 500 index fell 9.31 to 1,074.91.
The bond market closed lower as investors digested $10 billion in new 30-year bonds and kept a close eye on the gyrations of the dollar, the ruble and the stock market. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond fell 18/32 of a point in price for a yield of 5.63 percent.
The dollar fell against the Japanese yen as for once the limelight switched on trading between the greenback and the German mark. The U.S. currency finished higher against the mark following Soros' letter. Germany is one of Russia's largest lenders.
Jittery market heads south
On Wall Street, investors sold shares in the financial sector, whose exposure to international currency market jitters could hurt future earnings.
Shares of Dow member J.P. Morgan (JPM) fell 1-1/4 to 117-1/4 and fellow blue chip American Express (AXP) lost 3-5/8 to 95. Citicorp (CCI) slid 6-5/8 to 140-3/8 and Chase Manhattan (CMB) shed 2-1/16 to 64-1/8.
Elsewhere, airlines, whose business also could suffer amid a global market downturn, headed south. Rising oil prices also contributed to the losses. Shares of American Airlines parent AMR (AMR) fell 2-1/2 to 60-5/16, Delta Air Lines (DAL) lost 2-3/4 to 114-1/2, and United Airlines parent UAL (UAL) slipped 3-7/8 to 65-5/8. The Dow transports index fell 83.81, or 2.71 percent, to 3,004.72.
Separately, AMR decided once again to raise fares for non-business travel by 4 percent. It was the a second attempt in about a week to raise ticket prices, after an earlier one started by Delta failed to take hold. Delta and United said they were unsure if they would match the AMR rate hike.
On the bright side, news of strong earnings at retailer Nordstrom (NOBE) sent its shares up 2-29/32 to 35-3/32.
And drug stocks charged higher, helped by a report that Dow component Merck (MRK) has entered last-stage human trials of an antidepressant that works by blocking a brain chemical. Shares of Merck rose 1-1/2 to 126-3/4. Other companies working on suppressing the same chemical also headed higher. Pfizer (PFE) gained 3/16 to 102 and Eli Lily (LLY) rose 13/16 to 69-7/16.
(Click here for a look at today's CNNfn market movers.)
-- by staff writer Malina Poshtova Zang
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