The Nasdaq was down almost 2 percent, and the Dow and S&P were off nearly 1 percent earlier in the session. North Korea fired seven missiles in all Wednesday, one of them a long-range rocket that some analysts say could hit the Western United States, although it managed to fly for just 40 seconds before crashing into the ocean. (Full CNN.com coverage) The events have shaken world markets, already jittery over other geopolitical tensions including a spat with Iran over its nuclear program. In addition to sending both Europe and Asia markets to a lower close, they helped push crude oil prices to a new all-time trading high of $75.40. U.S. crude for August delivery gained $1.26 to settle $75.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, also a record closing price. They also encouraged a flight to safe-haven investments like gold, which rose $13.10 to settle at $629.70 for the August contract on COMEX. Investors will look to a couple economic reports, as well as oil and gold prices and any new political developments, to help move markets Thursday. Initial jobless claims are due at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the ISM services index is set for release at 10 a.m. ET. "Anything that indicates a softening number will be a real cushion for the market," said Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst at S.W. Bach & Co. Analysts have said weak economic and job numbers are good for stocks under current conditions. Markets have been concerned the Fed will raise interest rates too high in an effort to fight inflation, cutting of cheap capital for businesses and hurting economic growth. Wednesday's action Stock declines were led by techs, with the Goldman Sachs Internet index and the Amex Networking index both sinking more than 2 percent. The missile firing also put a damper on last week's rally, when stocks ended higher after the Federal Reserve softened its language on interest rates and a number of economic reports came in as expected or on the soft side. But Wednesday the Commerce Department said factory orders for May rose a higher than expected 0.7 percent. Economists were looking for a 0.1 percent gain, according to Briefing.com. And an employment report from payroll services company ADP suggested strong job growth in June. The reports could have pressured inflation-sensitive Treasurys. Bond prices fell sharply, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 5.22 percent from 5.16 late Monday. The ADP report comes just prior to the government's closely watched employment figures, set for release Friday. "That has brought interest rates back into play," said Cardillo "We're seeing fears of a real explosive jobs growth rate this Friday." Despite the tough sledding, analysts said market fundamentals remained strong. Kim Caughey, an analyst at the Pittsburgh-based money management firm Fort Pitt, said the S&P 500 will post double-digit percentage growth by the year's end. "We still think there's growth out there in the economy; the sky is not falling," said Caughey. On the move In corporate news, Atlantic City's casinos found themselves out of luck after being ordered closed by the state's Casino Control Commission due to New Jersey's budget crisis. The casinos cannot operate without state regulators. Properties owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts (down $0.78 to $19.50, Charts), Harrah's Entertainment (down $0.74 to $69.76, Charts) and Hilton Hotels (down $0.60 to $27.75, Charts) as well as the Borgata, a joint venture of MGM Mirage (down $0.58 to $40.25, Charts) and Boyd Gaming (down $0.54 to $39.35, Charts), will all be affected. Shares in all companies fell. (Full story.) Honda (down $1.42 to $31.05, Charts) said total June vehicle sales were flat over the same period last year, sending shares in the Japanese carmaker down more than 4 percent in New York. The Big 3 automakers reported June sales Monday. Ford (Charts) said U.S. sales sank 7 percent, while DaimlerChrysler (Charts) said U.S. vehicle sales fell 13 percent. After the market close, General Motors (Charts) said sales tumbled 26 percent. Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is set to meet his counterpart at GM, Rick Wagoner, later this month in Detroit to discuss areas of potential cooperation, including buying into the troubled automaker, according to the Financial Times. (Full story.) Nissan (down $0.92 to $21.27, Charts) shares fell more than 4 percent in New York. The dollar gained on the euro and yen. Financial markets were closed Tuesday for Independence Day. Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a margin of eight to three on volume of 1.51 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a margin of two to one as 1.59 billion shares changed hands.
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